NINE bins for every home as EU moves to control council rubbish collections

Published 19th Sep 2011

Millions of households could be forced to sort rubbish into nine bins under a controversial EU directive, experts warned yesterday.

Everyone in the country could be forced to follow the draconian rules, with the complicated collections pushing up already soaring council taxes.

Councils could lose the option of choosing how many bins they distribute to homes in their area, after the Campaign for Real Recycling won the right to a review of the UK's interpretation of the EU's Waste Framework Directive.

The Hon Mr Justice Hickinbottom will hold a hearing in December to decide whether allowing people to dispose of their rubbish in one bin is contravening the spirit of the EU guidelines.

But waste management firm Biffa said that sorting recycling at the plant was often more effective than leaving it to households.

A spokesman said it allowed 'fewer vehicle movements, fewer collections rounds and containers, and a safer working environment for collection crews as well as achieving higher recycling rates.'

But CRR insist that mixed waste is often so contaminated that it can only be sold off in Asia, where it may be sorted by poorly-paid workers, including children.

The hearing comes as households prepare for a tightening of rules in 2013, with the price of landfill disposal rising beyond the current £56 per ton.

At present, 140 local authorities insist that waste is recycled into five or more bins.

The average household will sort their rubbish into four bins, but many are having to cope with six or seven.

The militant rules are often strictly enforced and some councils have even produced rubbish rationing systems, with Wokingham limiting its residents to 80 sacks of waste a year.

Source: ' ThisIsMoney '

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