Oxfordshire County Council welcomes government’s waste strategy

Oxfordshire County Council has welcomed the government’s new Waste and Resources Strategy for England, describing it as “ambitious”, with the potential to “transform the way that waste is viewed and managed.”

Key points within the strategy include:

• Introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers to improve the amount recycled when out and about (known as ‘on the go’ recycling)

• Improved and extended redistribution of surplus food from businesses, and mandatory food waste collections from businesses and households.

• A national recycling target of 65 percent by 2035 (current national recycling rate is 45 percent)

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to protecting the local environment as part of its Thriving Communities initiative.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, County Council member for the environment, said:

“The strategy is ambitious and, subject to consultation, will transform the way that waste is viewed and managed.

“It will keep resources in use for much longer, tackling some longstanding issues with waste management. The environmental and cost benefits of this approach are clear.

“Importantly the strategy is based on the ‘polluter pays’ principal so that producers rather than councils will meet the costs of collection, recycling and disposal of specific materials.

“This will hopefully incentivise producers and manufactures to design their product and packaging to be more easily recycled.”

She continued:

“As the best recycling county in England (current recycling rate is over 57% in Oxfordshire), we’re well placed to help deliver the goals of this strategy.

“Our residents are very proactive in recycling as much material as possible, including food waste. They’ve worked hard to achieve this result, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels.

“We will continue to work with the government, the waste collection authorities and residents to improve the way that waste is managed. We will respond to the series of consultations planned over the next year to implement the detail of the strategy.

“Oxfordshire County Council looks forward to working with residents to reduce the amount of waste produced, and increase the amount recycled.”

For further information about waste and recycling in Oxfordshire, visit the website: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/waste