Earlier this month, Cheshire West and Chester Council Cabinet approved a new Waste Management Strategy for the borough, which will be put to full Council in July.

The proposal, which follows a public consultation on various options for waste collection in the borough, recommends the implementation of 'Option A', which would see household waste collected fortnightly and food waste weekly, as per the current arrangement.

Recycling will also be collected every two weeks, although households with enough space will be provided with larger bins to replace the current boxes.

Meanwhile, a charge of £40 per annum would be introduced for garden waste. This would be provided over the 'growing season' between March and November, covering 40 weeks of the year.

If residents chose to pay the fee, their green bin would be collected fortnightly. Neighbours will smaller gardens could choose to share a single bin and those with hardly any outdoor space would be allowed to put "a very small amount" of green waste in their black bin.

What have people said about the proposal?

The plans have divided opinions among local residents, with some viewing the garden waste charge as a fair solution, and others arguing that the new system will lead to increased pressure and congestion at west Cheshire recycling centres.

We have gone back through the Council's initial report on the 'Don't let your future go to waste consultation', to find out more about local views on the issue.

According to the report, many local residents were in favour of changing from recycling boxes to wheeled bins, which are easier to move, more durable and less likely to be lost or damaged.

A high proportion of respondents objected to the consultation's proposed 'Option B' for kerbside collections, which would have seen general and recycling waste collected every three weeks rather than every fortnight.

Respondents perceived that sanitary products such as nappies, dog waste and food waste would pose a risk to human health if stored in waste bins for extended periods between collections.

This was most often a concern during the summer months where the waste was more likely to become odorous and be an issue towards sanitation and basic hygiene.

It is based on these responses that the 'Option A' strategy – involving two-weekly collections – will now be put to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Overall, 44 per cent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed that the Council's ideas for "an efficient and cost-effective waste collection, recycling and processing service", including route optimisation of kerbside collections, minimising landfill use and charging for green bins, would succeed in achieving that priority.

Meanwhile, 38 per cent of people either agreed or strongly agreed.

Garden Waste

A majority of respondents objected in principle to the idea of charging for garden waste collections, with several expressing concerns about increased fly-tipping, especially in Frodsham and Elton.

Others suggested that the added charge would disproportionately impact on disadvantaged households and those without access to vehicles to otherwise transport their garden waste to a recycling centre.

Consultees who provided comments in support of charging for garden waste collections suggested that the charge should be low and should be charged on an annual basis.

Individual Responses

The report also included some individual responses from residents, which were as follows:

"Recycling isn't the answer to climate change: less waste is. I agree with that principle. Too many aren't even at the starting blocks on this."

"Many people may think their black bin is now too big as not much is put in there. A three weekly collection of this may increase recycling rates even further. Important to keep food waste collections weekly."

"No option on the consultation to reject both options A & B. What creative incentives are you thinking about trying to reward residents who do recycle/ or generate small amounts of waste? It looks a bit like a one size fits all. [The] consultation is very leading.

"Devonshire charge for garden waste. People get used to it and it is worth the money. We would expect an increase in fly tipping, a lot of residents don't have ability to take to recycling centre, a lot of garden waste is produced over the winter, maybe best to charge extra for those who want the service.

"Not everyone has transport so cannot take this to the recycling centre. Many have limited budget and will not have the disposable income to pay for garden waste. WVHT will have to pay for removal.

"Covid-19 saw collections of garden waste suspended. This has meant an increase in burning garden waste in gardens. This is a major concern for health and causes particulates in the air

household waste recycling centres have seen big queues during the last few weeks due to the garden waste suspension."

Several organisations local to Frodsham also responded to the questionnaire, including the River Weaver Navigation Society, Helsby Parish Council, Helsby Old Chester Road Allotments Association, Frodsham Community Association and Frodsham Cricket Club.

In all, the public survey received over 14,800 responses, making it one of the biggest consultations in the history of Cheshire West and Chester Council.