LAWR

July 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 11 NEWS ANALYSIS re-engaging residents to recycle, particularly where service performance is falling, where new services are introduced, or when changes are made to collection arrangements. Less frequent residual waste collections, for example every three weeks, would force the recycling agenda fur- ther but may be publicly and politically unfavourable, there are test cases in Scotland and Wales right now and we watch with anticipation to see how they work out. Greater consistency in collection systems across the UK would greatly assist residents in understanding and participating in recycling, but with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland implementing their own plans for the provision of waste services, this may become increasingly challenging. Waste collection must be a locally driven service, react- ing to local demands, priorities and circumstances, but our current local authority boundaries (Anglo-Saxon in origin) and the number of small district councils does not accurately reflect a modern Britain. We need larger authorities (the next step in joint work- ing?), perhaps more unitary authorities, as happened with local government reform in Scotland and Wales, so that service decisions are happening at the right scale. This would definitely save money, enhance recycling performance, ensure locally appropriate solutions, and may even get us greater harmony. Perhaps I am a little more than a dreamer, but some form of local government review is definitely needed. The green fatigue that has been so heavily covered by the media of late, may be the result of austerity measures, govern- ment politicking and lack of leadership, rather than the public falling out of love with recycling. Level of commitment by the public is higher today than ever before. My colleague Adam Read appeared on a BBC local radio phone-in last month discussing the plateauing of house- hold recycling. After appearing on the show, he said he was blown away by the level of support, commitment and belief in recycling from the general public who took the time to call. We can build on this, and drive performance beyond 70%, but only if we stop making the life of local authority officers harder with continual political gesturing, and changing goalposts. Undoubtedly, householder confusion does pose a chal- lenge for the waste industry. However, with the recent upturn in national media attention that waste and recycling has received, it is clear that members of the public have a keen interest in these issues, and are far from apathetic about recycling! Victoria Hutchin is senior consultant at Ricardo-AEA Resource Efficiency and Waste Management. We manufacture bespoke Shredders for Shredding... \Clinical Waste \Tyres \Metal \Mobile Shredding \Plastics \Confidential Documents \WEEE \Electronic Media Storage Devices \Textiles \Organic Waste \Fuel Large, coarse, superfine and everything in between at Ulster Shredders. Cogry Works, 65 Creagh Rd, Castledawson Magherafelt. BT45 8EW T. +44 28 7965 0050 F. +44 28 7965 0025 Want to find out more about our range of Industrial Shredders? Email us at info@ulstershredders.com or visit our website. ulstershredders.com " The public are not apathetic about recycling "

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