Plans to cut the amount of rubbish thrown away in Shropshire could save the local authority up to £1m per year.
Shropshire Council unveiled a new “waste minimisation” plan earlier this year with the aim of cutting household waste by 20 per cent between now and 2030, against a backdrop of increasing waste management costs due to housing growth and inflation.
The council has now launched a public consultation on its plans, which it says could reduce the total amount of waste generated in the county by up to 26,689 tonnes or 178kg of waste per household in any given year.
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In the strategy the authority says the majority of the waste reduction will come from reducing garden and food waste – but reducing the amount of “residual waste”, or black bin rubbish, by around 25 per cent could generate savings and income of up to £1million by freeing up capacity at Shrewsbury’s incinerator plant.
“Based on the saving of not having to treat 6,672 tonnes of residual waste at the council’s energy recovery facility and then also selling that relinquished capacity to third parties may generate a combined saving and income figure in the region of £1m annually,” read the strategy report.
However it adds: “It is noted that such a saving will likely be obscured by annual rises in the waste contract value due to indexation and increases due to housing growth.”
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), English households produced 21.8 million tonnes of waste in 2021/22, 9 million tonnes of which was sent for recycling.
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And while in Shropshire recycling rates are consistently high, the county is in the top twenty local authorities for total waste per household according to the most recent data.
“Shropshire’s residents can justifiably be proud of their continued efforts to recycle their household waste and Shropshire’s combined recycling and composting performance has consistently been above 50 per cent since 2015/16,” said Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy Leader and Cabinet member.
“Prevention, reduction and minimising waste is at the top of the waste hierarchy in terms of being the most responsible approach for the environment, to safeguard our precious resources and help tackle climate change. Taking steps to reduce waste is the right approach economically and will mean more of council taxpayer’s money can be used towards providing essential services.
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“Shropshire’s recycling and composting performance compares well nationally, but this success tells only part of the story as Shropshire’s households generate more waste per household than households in most other local authority areas.”
Residents have until November to comment on the strategy, which is available via the council’s website.
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