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News and Comment October 2011

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5 October (Part 2) - Refuse disposal costs

Recycling costs Recycling costs
After casting doubt on Bexley council’s claim to be London’s top recycler - the figure relies on Bexley throwing away far more food and garden waste than other boroughs - and seriously doubting Bexley council saved anything last year on refuse collection, let alone the £3 million they claimed, someone sent me these council documents.

They show that however you dress the figures up, refuse collection is costly. Bexley spends £44.83 net (sum of final column, Figure 1) on collecting the average household’s rubbish. If you are one of the many who considers refuse collection to be the only service you can see the council providing in return for your council tax, it is obviously not much of a bargain.

However the figures do show exactly what I suspected; ‘manufacturing’ more compost is costing a lot of money but it helps boost Bexley in the refuse recycling league table. If a quarter of the amount collected was composted at home the saving would be little more than fifty pence per household but Bexley would fall dramatically in the league table. It’s not much money to spend on boosting Bexley councillors’ egos. If you love Bexley council, go out and clip your hedge.

 

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