A draft action plan to halve the amount of waste thrown away by households in Basingstoke and Deane and double what they recycle will be discussed by the borough council's Cabinet next week.

The way waste is managed is changing nationally and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council must achieve higher waste reduction and recycling targets set by the government, while also adapting to new ‘simpler recycling’ reforms to standardise what is recycled across England.

The low recycling rates in the borough will need to more than double, from 30% where they are today to 65% by 2035, and the amount of rubbish thrown away each year must be cut by half to 287kg per person by 2042. 

At a meeting on Tuesday 9 June, the council’s Cabinet is set to agree how it plans to achieve this through 30 actions detailed in a new recycling and waste strategy. This focuses on reducing waste first, reusing items where possible and recycling as much as possible of what’s left.

To meet these targets the council will work with residents, community groups and partners to provide the right support and infrastructure to manage waste differently in the borough.

And it has started taking action already. Last October the borough council introduced a weekly food waste collection. Food waste makes up roughly 30% of borough’s waste, so this could take up to a third out of rubbish bins, recycling it into greener energy and fertiliser.  

A greater focus will also be placed on supporting residents to maximise what they currently can recycle at home and at local recycling sites, with the borough’s rubbish bins still containing items that could be recycled now. Another aim is to encourage residents to reduce the amount of items being incorrectly put in recycling, technically known as contamination, as this risks a green bin full of recycling having to be treated as rubbish and taken to the incinerator to be burned. 

And the borough council is exploring options to recycle even more while Hampshire County Council prepares to open a new sorting facility in 2028. This will finally mean that the borough council will be able to collect items including plastic pots, tubs, trays and cartons that could be recycled but the current sorting facility can't take. 

In the meantime, the borough council is introducing temporary new recycling banks for plastic pots, tubs, trays and cartons at the six council-owned recycling sites and exploring options for other sites, while the county council builds its new sorting facility.

Also a new kerbside collection service for small waste electrical and electronic items, including kettles, small toasters, hair dryers and hand blenders, small toys, cables and phones, could be introduced as early as next spring.  

With more opportunities for residents to recycle their waste and a national drive to cut rubbish, the borough council also plans to introduce changes to bin collections in the autumn. This will see food waste caddies collected every week alongside residents’ green recycling bins and glass boxes one week and their grey rubbish bin the next.

Basingstoke and Deane is the only waste collection authority in Hampshire still emptying rubbish bins every week and one of only 16 authorities out of 360 in the UK, which includes five London boroughs and other city and urban authorities.

This change in bin collections will bring the area into line with neighbouring authorities, including Hart District Council that has been collecting waste every other week since 2006 and Rushmoor Borough Council that introduced these changes in 2021.

Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Housing Cllr Laura James said: “The way we deal with waste across the country is changing and we must prepare for how we will meet challenging national targets set by the government.

“Putting it simply, we need to double the amount we recycle and cut by half the amount we throw away and this cannot not be achieved by doing nothing and staying as we are.

“We know we face a challenge, our recycling rates are low and the amount of waste produced in the borough is high but with modernised services, clear information and the right support provided to our residents, we can and will improve.

“We are working hard to deliver opportunities for residents to recycle more from home and at recycling sites while we wait for the county council to deliver a new sorting facility. In the meantime, we know over a third of what goes into our rubbish bins at home can currently be recycled and we will support residents to manage their waste differently to maximise the use of their green bins, glass boxes and food waste caddies.”

The report on the draft recycling and waste strategy can be viewed on council's website www.basingstoke.gov.uk 

Residents can find out more information on recycling in the borough at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/recycle