Plans move forward for West Northants Waste and Resources strategy

16 November 2023

Proposals for the future of waste and recycling services in West Northamptonshire have taken a step forward as West Northamptonshire Council’s cabinet agree to adopt the strategy which sets out the approach for improving local waste and street cleansing services.

Our Council collects and empties wheelie bins, sacks and caddies more than 21 million times every year and provides essential street cleansing services to keep our areas clean and green. WNC’s recycling centres receive more than 500,000 visits from West Northamptonshire resident’s each year.

The Council wants to continue improving these services and ensure they align with Government proposals to change waste policies nationally, so it has developed a Resources and Waste Strategy that sets out its long-term vision.

Following a public consultation held over the summer, which saw over 3000 responses, the strategy has been tailored to further improve the alignment with our communities’ priorities and values. This feedback and the updated strategy were presented to cabinet this week.

The strategy consists of a set of 10 principles, these principles will guide the development of the Council’s waste services over the next 15 years – informing decision making enabling WNC to create sustainable waste and street cleaning services.

I would like to thank all residents who provided feedback on our waste strategy. We are grateful for the response to our public consultation and for resident’s input on the waste strategy, this has helped inform the strategy so that it can best suit the needs of people living in West Northants.

As current waste arrangements expire, we have an exciting opportunity to develop a fair, consistent, harmonised and sustainable waste service for the future that delivers value-for-money and meets the needs of all our residents and businesses.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at WNC

As the existing current waste arrangements come to an end, the Council will create a harmonised and sustainable service covering all of West Northamptonshire. This service will see a prioritisation of waste reduction, reuse and recycling to minimise the environmental impact of waste. In order for WNC to achieve its recycling targets, and also reduce the cost of waste services, West Northamptonshire residents will be empowered to be ‘responsible consumers’ through an increased emphasis on education and awareness of sustainability.