Councils have urged the next government to relax rules on residual waste collections to boost recycling rates.
The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) called for whichever party triumphs at the general election on 4 July to allow less frequent pick-ups of general refuse.
Ministers last month said they “expect” residual waste to be collected at least once every 14 days in England.
This was despite more than half of respondents to a consultation saying councils were best placed to make decisions on how often to pick up general refuse from households.
LARAC this week urged the next government to “reconsider the stance on residual waste collection frequencies in England to support waste hierarchy principles”.
The body added that ministers should “recognise the importance of longer intervals for residual waste collections in achieving recycling targets”.
Elsewhere LARAC backed moves to delay a deposit return scheme (DRS) until other reforms such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) had bedded in.
It added: “LARAC stresses the importance of financial support from central government to cover transition costs, public education campaigns and infrastructure upgrades necessary for new collection systems.”
