Sevenoaks District Council is proposing to make changes to improve our recycling rates, and stop the use of single use plastic, which is currently used to take all our domestic waste away.
The district council spends £200,000 of your council tax every year on buying plastic sacks, that are used once and then disposed. Along with many organisations that are removing plastic for packaging, our commitment is to look for a much more sustainable solution to manage our weekly waste service.
The council made changes to the waste collection days and routes last year, which has already resulted in a 15% reduction in the use of diesel, helping to contribute to savings in cash and carbon. Furthermore, the council will save a further 32,000 miles per year, just delivering sacks.
The solution that the council is proposing this year is to replace clear sacks, with reusable heavy duty tall bags, that are manufactured from recycled material, that will be issued to every household. They will be emptied and returned for use each week.
To continue to encourage our reduction in the amount waste to landfill, black sacks will no longer be supplied to residents free of charge, although any that residents purchase will still be collected.
Against the backdrop of rising costs for all organisations, and the need for the Council to find £1.4 m annual savings to protect services, the proposed changes will enable the district council to maintain our weekly collections that we cherish, by contributing to saving around £200,000 per year.
Darren Kitchener
Chairman, HPC, and Member for SDC