Barnet Council could bring back brown bin rounds

A planned shake-up of the waste system announced on Monday (February 18) would see the roll-out of weekly food waste collections for every household in England, along with free garden waste collections.

The move is aimed at simplifying the recycling system and moving towards a ‘circular economy’ that minimises waste.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the Government was “leading the way to move away from being a ‘throw-away’ society and drive up domestic recycling”.

Barnet Council suspended separate food waste collections in November last year, meaning people have had to put leftover food in their domestic waste bins.

The council urged people to keep hold of their brown food waste caddies and suggested collections could return following a review of the refuse service.

It came after a row between the council and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who threatened to overturn a move to stop separate food waste collections because it contravened his London Environment Strategy.

The council’s environment committee also agreed to launch a consultation on charging households £50 a year for garden waste collections at a meeting in November.

Labour councillors opposed the changes, which came as part of a shake-up of the borough’s waste service designed to save £750,000 a year.

Barnet Council has had to make savings of £155 million since 2010 and will have to save another £21 million in the coming financial year after having its funding slashed by central government.

But the Government has pledged to ensure councils are able to meet the costs of its latest proposals to boost recycling rates.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We would welcome any proposals that will help improve recycling and waste collections.

“We look forward to hearing further information about how these proposals will work on a local level.”

The Government has launched a series of consultations on its plans to boost recycling that will run until May 13.