Village of Bulmer in Essex

Braintree District Council to consult on major changes to waste and recycling collections

In January BDC will start an 8-week public consultation on major changes to waste and recycling collections for both residents and businesses. This is in response to changes in Government regulations. The proposals include additional wheelie bins and a revised collection calendar to accommodate the collection of glass, drinks cartons and other materials not currently collected kerbside. Much improved collections are also proposed for residents who live in flats. Weekly food caddy collections and the green bin subscription system are not proposed to be changed.

The proposed new system overall is shown in the diagram below. The main change is that recycling bags will no longer be used for dry recycling. Instead there will be 2 new bins, one for card and paper and one for all other dry recycling including glass. These 2 new bins will be collected on alternate weeks and the grey bins will be collected every 3 weeks instead of every fortnight as now.

A key decision was taken at BDC meeting 16/12 to commence with a residents consultation on a new kerbside collections service.

• The consultation will commence in early January 2025 and finish in March 2025
• A decision will be taken on the new collections service at the May 2025 Braintree District Council Cabinet Meeting, following detailed analysis of residents feedback 
• The new service will be implemented in early 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣

Every home will receive an information letter/leaflet setting out how the new collections service could work and how you can respond to the forthcoming consultation.

Your feedback will count to make sure that the council captures your views on the proposed new collections service.

The Independent & Greens Group successfully proposed a stretch recycling target of 75% in Braintree District and the Essex Waste Strategy target is 65% by 2035, but actual rates have flatlined for a decade. Braintree District remains at below 50%, performing quite poorly compared to similar councils.

Achieving higher recycling rates will greatly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill – waste which from 2026 is scheduled to be sent to the waste incinerator being built at Rivenhall Airfield.

I&G Group councillors strongly support achieving more recycling and making it as convenient as possible for residents and businesses to take part. Reducing waste at source and recycling reduce pollution and help to combat climate change.

So the forthcoming consultation will be an important one for the district. I&G Group councillors have already raised the need to make sure that the new arrangements work for all residents, including those who have limited space for wheelie bins and for vulnerable residents.

Local Government reorganisation – what is the real agenda ?

There have been plenty of briefings and news stories recently about potential major changes to the way that councils are organised in Essex. A “Devo Deal” has been suggested which could give more powers to Essex in return for some reorganisation and possibly an 'Essex Mayor'. But it has also been reported that the Government is looking at a much more radical shake-up which would see all the current councils abolished (district, borough, city and county) to be replaced with a smaller number of unitary authorities. Or will it be a mix of these ? The I&G Group is asking what the real agenda is, and if change is coming, how and when residents and local councillors will be consulted.

BDC sets out first thoughts on the district Budget for 2025/26

On 20th November, BDC held a meeting where the first thoughts on the 2025/26 budget were considered. The financial environment remains challenging, but there was some good news in that the council is currently proposing to maintain support for Parish Councils via the Street Cleaning Grant and also to keep the popular Councillor Community Grants - which have helped to fund so many local projects in the district.

Potholes

Potholes and other highway defects such as damaged pavements, flooding and broken signs remain a hot topic for residents. Essex County Council says it now has more funding to tackle highway defects but obvious problems remain : - Why do some potholes take so long to fix when they are clearly a safety risk ? Why does Essex Highways spend so much time and resource sending vans round to inspect defects instead of just going out and fixing them ?

I&G councillors continue to raise these questions and to support residents on a daily basis to report defects and to chase ECC to do a better job. You can report a wide range of highway defects via the Essex Highways Tell Us website.

As posted by the Indepentant & Greens Group on Facebook December 2024

Minutes of Meeting held 23rd November  2024 can be viewed here.....

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