Why the government's Environment Bill could cost Wakefield taxpayers millions

New government legislation around bin rounds could end up costing  Wakefield taxpayers millions.
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The Environmental Bill, which was passed into law at the end of last year, will soon demand that councils collect food waste separately from other household rubbish.

The move will ensure more food is recycled and converted into fertilisers and other forms of natural energy.

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In Wakefield, food waste is already recycled, but it's separated from landfill after household bins are collected, rather than beforehand.

The government is aiming to reduce household food waste with the measures.The government is aiming to reduce household food waste with the measures.
The government is aiming to reduce household food waste with the measures.

Council bosses say the current system works well and are now asking for dispensation from the government to continue as they are.

If they don't get it, money will have to spent on buying an extra bin for each of the district's 160,000 households.

More refuse collectors may also have to be recruited ahead of 2023, when the rules come into force.

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The council's deputy leader, Coun Jack Hemingway told councillors on Monday that officers were in talks with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about the situation.

Taxpayers in Wakefield may have to pay for more bins and more bin crews if the government refuses to compromise.Taxpayers in Wakefield may have to pay for more bins and more bin crews if the government refuses to compromise.
Taxpayers in Wakefield may have to pay for more bins and more bin crews if the government refuses to compromise.

Speaking at a scrutiny meeting, he said: "We essentially already do what the government is wanting us to achieve with this legislation.

"But they're being quite prescriptive about how it's applied.

"It would cost taxpayers more, as we'd have to create those extra bin rounds and buy residents an extra bin as well.

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"We're hopefully working with Defra on a solution because we'd like to continue to work along our current lines.

"But we can't confirm any agreement with them on that yet."

The same meeting was later told that the cost of hiring one new bin crew, complete with two refuse collectors and a driver, is around £80,000 a year.

The going rate for a new bin lorry, meanwhile, is around £175,000.

Last summer, the council's strategic waste manager, Julie Greenwood, said that an extra 20 vehicles could be needed to meet the new requirements, if the authority is forced to adopt them.

She also said that it would be "challenging" and a "burden" to implement the necessary changes before 2023.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

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