The Kerbside Recycling Service Survey ran from 14 November to 11 December 2022. It was available online and as a paper survey. The survey was promoted to Angus householders through social media, community councils and Angus Council’s Communities officers, and promotional posters and supermarket stands.
Background of the survey
The survey took place in the context of Angus Council facing a financial crisis. We forecast a budget gap of £51.9 million over three years.
This equates to savings of 19.3% of the council’s base budget. That’s the equivalent of completely stopping:
- all children, families and justice services
- PLUS all waste services
- PLUS all roads and transport services (£55m)
Deposit return scheme
The Deposit Return scheme (DRS) for Scotland was scheduled to launch in August 2023, introducing a 20p deposit on drinks containers including plastic bottles (except milk), cans and glass bottles.
The scheme is now likely to launch October 2025 at the earliest.
Effect on bin collections
A DRS will lead to a significant decrease in the amount of these materials going in household recycling bins.
We looked at how we can make bin collections more efficient both before and after the deposit return scheme starts.
We can save huge sums of money by changing the way we collect household waste and recycling. This includes recycling more as it’s cheaper to recycle.
By saving money through changes to kerbside recycling, we can reduce cuts to other services such as schools, social care and roads.
Summary of responses
2464 responses were received from Angus households, 51 of these in paper format.
The results show that:
- Half of respondents disagreed with bringing their glass to a recycling point and half either agreed or neither agreed nor disagreed
- Most respondents agreed with having two recycling bins where glass continued to be collected at the kerbside
- Forty three percent agreed with having two recycling bins and bringing their glass to a recycling point
- Almost two thirds of respondents always or regularly use their food waste caddy
- Almost half of respondents were not willing to have their non-recyclable waste bin emptied every three weeks and just over half were either willing or neither agreed nor disagreed
- Just over half of respondents agreed that non-recyclable waste bins containing too many recyclable items should be tagged and left uncollected
Next: Respondents