A survey for FCC Environment has found that further reductions in services at Household Waste and Recycling Centres could “significantly affect recycling rates”.
The poll for FCC Environment, which runs 96 HWRCs for 24 local authorities, showed that around a quarter of people visit their HWRC at least every month, and 64% have used it in the last year.
The results further showed that spending on HWRCs is more important to residents than recycling collections and even street lighting. The company also pointed to Circular Economy package, stating that the research indicated that HWRCs “truly are the front line for recycling for the majority of people, and reducing services further could significantly affect recycling rates”, at a time when the Circular Economy package is determining ever higher targets.
Commenting on the release of the statistics, Steve Longdon, regional director for FCC Environment, said: “How a council manages its HWRCs has wide impacts on the community, from encouraging ever more recycling to supporting local charities with repair and upcycling schemes.”
Mr Longdon added “This poll shows clearly that residents really value local facilities and moreover they are valuable community assets. Residents have increasingly high expectations when it comes to recycling and re-use at HWRCs so let’s harness that enthusiasm and put residents at the heart of developing such resources to maximise reduced budgets and the use-experience.”