Council to ditch 'frustrating' recycling sacks

Recycling sacks are set to be scrapped after a year of complaints from residents.

Basildon Council, in Essex, is also due to explore returning to weekly waste collections after controversial changes were implemented in November 2023.

The authority said it followed a "record-breaking" consultation which saw 8,000 people share their concerns about the system.

Labour councillor Aidan McGurran said blue and white sacks used in the collections caused "so much frustration".

The system was introduced when the council was under Conservative control, but was branded "disastrous" after Labour assumed power in May.

Residents had to split their rubbish and recycling into six different sections, with refuse collected fortnightly.

It led to complaints that lingering rubbish was putting public health at risk, and some claimed the sacks were more susceptible to being blown away.

At a meeting on Monday, councillors agreed that residents would be given two single-use disposable bags to replace the existing sacks.

Officers were also told to produce a fully costed delivery plan for the return of weekly collections in March 2025.

McGurran, the cabinet member for environment and leisure, said the moves marked a "big step" in the council's overhaul.

"The public consultation was loud and clear on what residents want us to do and these decisions are the next step in that journey," he added.

Reacting to the news on X, Lee Chapel North ward councillor, Alex Harrison, said the existing system was "terrible".

He said the new move would resolve "the issue of sacks blowing away and waste getting wet when it rains".

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