Local Ladywood campaigner and prospective Conservative candidate, Rob Coleman, has launched an online petition calling on Birmingham City Council to overhaul the way household recyclable waste is collected from the city’s residential blocks and high rise flats.
Unlike in other cities, where standard refuse trucks are able to collect dumpsters, Birmingham’s recycling crews do not have this capability because their vehicles have not been modified to lift the heavier loads. Therefore, residents living in flats and apartment blocks across the city still use 240L/ 360L ‘household’ recycling bins and, in the absence of dumpsters, their capacity to recycle waste is significantly reduced as the current bins accommodate far less waste.
By 2030, Birmingham is legally obligated to meet a recycling target of 70% of all household waste. Yet, in the past year, the amount of waste recycled in the city dropped by 6% compared with 2014.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Rob said: ‘Whilst it is commendable that the City council are seeking to address the issue of waste collection by micro-chipping bins; we cannot avoid the fact that in the past 12 months we have seen 6% less recyclable waste collected, per person, by Birmingham City Council’.
‘For that reason, I am calling upon the City council to address the issue of the recycling capacity for flats and apartment blocks in Ladywood, as well as across the wider city. Specifically, the petition I have launched requests that the City council ensure recycling crews have the capacity to collect and issue out to residential buildings 1100L dumpsters, as I believe it would ensure residents have a further capacity to recycle’.
‘Meeting this 2030 target is important and we need to establish once and for all a long term solution to address the issues around this city’s waste management. Residents therefore need to ask their councillors, if not now, when will the necessary changes be delivered to meet this goal, and if all possible options are being considered before we commit to further public spending?’.
The petition can be found at: https://t.co/hY5chdJbVM
Please sign and share on social media for a cleaner, greener Birmingham.