New waste and recycling service – your questions answered

Recycling saves money

Rochdale Borough Council is introducing weekly food and garden collections, with other bins collected every three weeks. Here we answer some of the most popular questions about this service.

Why are we doing this?

We only recycled around 34% of our rubbish in 2014. Stockport’s recycling rate was 63% and Bury 55% so we have to do more. This new service will help stop the council being fined for not significantly increasing the borough’s low recycling rate.

The new service will increase recycling and reduce the cost of disposal – helping to save £1million annually of council tax payers’ money and helping us to protect other essential services with the existing funds that we do have.

Why can’t things stay the same?

At the moment it costs the council £10 every time we collect a green general waste bin, which works out at £306.62 per tonne. If we do not recycle more and reduce the amount of general waste we collect, the total cost of waste disposal could increase by as much as £2 million by 2016/17.

Won’t general waste bins be overflowing?

Around 32% of what goes into general waste bins is food so the best way to recycle more is to provide weekly food waste collections and reduce general waste collections.

What about rats, flytipping and smelly bins?

There is no evidence to show that three-weekly collections lead to an increase in fly-tipping or attract rats. This has not happened in other areas where the system has been introduced.

Weekly collection of food and garden waste will eliminate the potential for bad smells and flies from the dark green bin, particularly during the summer months. Residents will be given a kitchen caddy and free compostable liners throughout the year to help them recycle all year round.

Residents, who recycle but find they still need more room to store non-recyclable waste, should contact us on recycling@rochdale.gov.uk or 0300 303 8884 as we can offer advice on reducing waste and may be able to provide an additional general waste bin.

Why can’t I recycle more things like yoghurt pots and margarine tubs?

All councils in Greater Manchester collect the same things but every other area has a higher recycling rate than Rochdale. We need to recycle more of the things we can already recycle.

For a full list of what can be recycling in what bin, visit:

www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com/rochdale

How much does the council make from recycling?

The council does make a small amount of money from recycling, which goes towards reducing the cost of general waste disposal. The council would need 12 tonnes of recycling for every tonne of general waste in order to reduce the disposal cost to zero.

How can I have my say?

The council is consulting on how to implement the new waste and recycling service due for launch in October 2015.

If you are interested in having your say, please visit our consultation page at:

www.rochdale.gov.uk/yourviews