Recycling Crisis Brewing in Bromley? - Shoaib Salim, Farringtons School

In an age when we are being urged to reduce, reuse and recycle more and more the closure of four garden waste recycling centres in the borough of Bromley last year has highlighted the difficulties faced by local councils in tackling the recycling concerns of their residents.

In a survey conducted last November by EnviroWaste Bromley ranked as the second best London borough for recycling with an estimated 48 percent of residents recycling regularly as compared to 54 percent in Bickley. There is however a growing funding crisis among London boroughs. With purse strings tightening year after year it is feared that recycling collections will be cut to the bone in the not too distant future.

In parts of Manchester refuse collections have been cut to once every three weeks in an effort to save money. As a result, many householders have resorted to paying private contractors to take away refuse on a weekly basis. Last year Kingston council cut collections to just fortnightly, a move that was met with outrage by residents.

In the London Borough of Bromley itself, four garden waste recycling collection points were closed with residents forced to brave queues at either the Waldo Road or Churchfields Road. There are fears that this will eventually lead to a reduction in the frequency of household waste collection from fortnightly, to only three-weekly collection service. With the rise of fly tipping in neighbouring boroughs and the memory of the Orpington waste mountain towering over residential streets this must surely be ringing alarm bells in some council offices.

The introduction of a subscription based Green Garden Waste Collection service cost has been met with mixed reactions. The £60 cost has been decried as too high a cost for some residents, while the fortnightly nature of the collections has been denounced as inadequate. The only solution for those who can afford it may be to hire private waste removal companies.

There has been a growing pressure on councils across the UK to both improve recycling provision and cut costs across the board. Can both goals be realistically achieved? It may be too soon to tell but with other pressure on councils such as an ageing population and pressure on school places, it may be that saving the planet will come a very long way down the list of priorities in the end for Bromley Council.

Shoaib Salim, Farringtons School