During November 2024, our Councillors will consider a new ‘Waste & Recycling Strategy’. It sets out a broad vision to improve the carbon and cost efficiency of our waste collection services.
If approved, it could lead to a wider range of materials collected. This could include glass and food waste as well as other items in future years.
Before we take any decisions, we are proposing to give residents an opportunity to have their say on our waste collection services in the coming months.
A number of factors are driving the changes to our collection services.
We committed to tackling climate change. As part of our new Climate Change Strategy, we have promised to reduce general waste and increase recycling. This is because recycling helps to prevent climate change by saving energy and helping to transform items that have been used into something new.
But right now, recycling rates in the Sevenoaks District are low around 38%. Government has set a new national recycling target of 65% by 2035. Under our current arrangements, we are unlikely to meet this target.
Since the pandemic, the amount of waste we collect has also increased by about a third. This is because more people are working from home. There has also been growth in parcel delivery services from online retailers. This generates more packaging and waste.
The recycling and waste strategy proposes:
- Weekly food waste collections by 31 March 2026
- Glass collections, made every other week, by 31 March 2026
- A comprehensive review of our services with the aim of further expanding recycling collections. We want to add new items, such as small household electrical goods and textiles. This review will consider containers provided to residents, including the option to introduce wheelie bins for general waste.
The draft ‘Domestic waste & recycling strategy’ will be considered by our Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee on 11 November, Cabinet on 14 November and Council on 19 November 2024.