New plan for bins and recycling to be considered

Weekly household food waste collections and changes to bins and recycling are being considered by Lancaster City Council.

All councils are being told to follow a government "simpler recycling" scheme which aims to create consistent waste collection and recycling arrangements to reduce the use of landfill tips and to recycle more materials like paper, tins, glass and plastics.

Also food waste can be used in some processes to generate heat energy or for fertilisers for farms and gardens.

The council's cabinet will meet to decide the best way for the collections to be introduced in the district, possibly switching from the current recycling boxes to new wheelie bins.

Larger bins would make it easier for households to store recyclables like glass, plastic, tins, cardboard and paper and reduce mess on the streets.

If the proposals get the green light, recycling collections would move to every three weeks instead of every two, because there will be more space in each bin.

The same three-week cycle is also being proposed for non-recyclable waste, with the expectation that people throw away less once they start recycling food waste weekly.

Paul Hart, cabinet member for environmental services, said: "I know these are big changes, but other councils that have already made the switch are seeing less waste and more being recycled.

"That's what we're aiming for too."

The city council has received around £1.46m from the government to support food waste collections.

This will be used to buy new vehicles and food waste caddies for households, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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