Fewer Trash Collections, More Recycling
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 04.26.07
Weekly trash collection in the UK is set to be a thing of the past as most councils move to a fortnightly pickup. There has been a lot of negative coverage of the new scheme, with residents claiming that it's unsanitary to have rubbish bags lying around for up to two weeks. However, councils claim that 30% of waste is recycled under fortnightly pickups, compared to 23% with weekly pickups. These estimates suggest that £22m could be saved by reduced landfill fees, as this extra recycling would reduce waste by 1.2m tonnes.
Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, the chairman of the Local Government Association, explained that English residents have simply got to alter the way they percieve refuse collection, "For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about environmental consequences or rising costs. Those days are now over." :: The Guardian
Compost pickup could be weekly, to keep things from getting really smelly, and then recycling could be biweekly, and trash monthly, or something like that. That would encourage people to compost and recycle.
This is a great idea -- give recycling the economic advantage and see how many people jump on board!