Have your say on the future of recycling

A consultation to help determine the future of the household waste recycling service in Cambridgeshire is to be launched by the County Council.
From today (Friday 15 August) until Friday 26 September, residents have the chance to give their views on how to create an efficient and cost effective recycling service which needs to contribute to the £149 million in savings required from the authority’s budget over the next five years.
The options being put forward include looking at the location, usage and potential closure of some household recycling centres (HRCs) in the county as well as proposals such as charging for certain wastes such as hardcore and plasterboard or reducing weekday opening hours and opening days at sites.
To get involved in the six week consultation please visit http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentreservice.
The consultation will form part of a review which the Council is working closely with the local authorities of RECAP – the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership to ensure any potential issues such as flytipping are taken into account.
Cllr Roger Hickford, Chair of Highways & Community Infrastructure said: “We face many financial challenges in the coming months as we try to reconcile making millions of pounds of savings while delivering the services which our residents need. This means areas where we are strong and successful such as recycling must be closely looked at. This is why we are asking the public how they would like to see the household waste recycling service develop in the future taking into account the current financial restraints.
“We currently have nine household recycling centres in Cambridgeshire which encourage people to recycle – our challenge is to see how we can be smarter with using these centres. This may mean charging for taking items which are not classed as ‘household’ waste, changing opening hours or closing centres. We have to be radical in our thinking which is why I would encourage residents to take this opportunity to have your say on shaping the future of recycling in Cambridgeshire.”
The consultation will take place throughout the summer, with the results being presented to the Highways and Community Infrastructure Committee in the autumn.