Government response

Myth bust: Daily Telegraph claim on household bin collections

We are not interfering in how councils decide to collect peoples' recycling or left over rubbish.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The myth: In a story about recycling collection in Cornwall, today’s Daily Telegraph incorrectly claims that Defra is pushing local authorities to have complicated recycling systems and threatening to ban certain waste from being sent to landfill.

The truth: This is simply not true. We are not interfering in how councils decide to collect peoples’ recycling or left over rubbish. They are best placed to judge what works in their local area. We want local authorities to work with their residents to deliver the service they want to see - preferably one that is regular and easy to use. 

As for “threatening” to make it illegal to send certain waste to landfill, that is also not true. As we said last year in our Waste Review, we are looking at ways that we can reduce landfill by preventing material such as wood, that can easily be recycled or used for energy, from being sent to lie rotting in the ground. We will of course consult with local authorities on how we can achieve this.

Published 17 May 2012