Bristol City Council to lead the way with waste incentive scheme

Bristol City Council could become the first authority in the country to reward residents who produce less black bin waste.

Following a series of discussions and meetings with Defra and WRAP, the city council is taking a formal proposal to Defra in London on Monday 8th March to seek funding and support for a pilot incentive scheme that would give residents the chance to receive cash incentives depending on how much they manage to reduce their waste.

Councillor Gary Hopkins, cabinet member for environment and community safety, says: “Bristol already has a first-class reputation for waste reduction and recycling and we have set ourselves an ambitious target to recycle 50 per cent of all our waste by the end of this year.

“Even more importantly, we are committed to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill which, as well as having major environmental benefits, will save Bristol tax payers millions. Bristol residents have already helped us reduce the amount of waste we generate.

“This year we are predicting our waste to be nearly 23,000 tonnes less than in 2004/05 - saving £4 million of public money. We’ve saved even more thanks to residents who now recycle nearly 40% of their waste, compared to just 12 per cent five years ago. This year, people in Bristol recycled nearly 4,000 tonnes more than last year.”

The proposed scheme, if it goes ahead, would be run as a pilot for six months in Bishopston, Cotham and Redland. The residents in the 2,362 properties in this area would be given the option to participate in the pilot scheme on a voluntary basis. These areas have been selected as they are currently not part of any other recycling pilots in the city, and because there is a good mixture of types of properties and residents.

“The scheme will encourage residents to think about what they are throwing away and act as a thank you to those who help us by reducing their waste,” says Councillor Hopkins. “It will be completely voluntary, so people only sign up to it if they want to take part. There will be no penalty for participants who don’t manage to reduce their waste, and our officers will obviously be able to give them advice on how to reduce and recycle further.”

Residents who volunteer for the trial would be issued with a chipped wheelie bin. Collection vehicles would be fitted with weighing equipment so that they can weigh the bins each week and record the weight on specialist software. The amount of waste residents need to reduce by will be calculated in kilograms and worked out per person, to take into account the number of people living in a household.

Councillor Hopkins says: “With a new waste contract due to begin in 2011, we are keen to proceed with this scheme quickly as the pilot will help us and potential contractors work out how a wider voluntary scheme could fit into the new contract.

“It is the first reward scheme of its kind in the UK and we believe that, with financial backing from the government, Bristol is the right place to make it a success.”