Comment : Cllr Ellen McLeay & Cllr Sue Shanks
It was great to see that our previous column resonated with so many of you across the ward . We enjoyed receiving messages sharing your views on the topics we covered . One of the messages we received inspired the topic of this month ’ s column – the council ’ s major expansion of recycling provision , which will launch in May 2025 .
We are delighted by this change in recycling provision . It has been a long time coming . For many years , Magpie collected the material not collected by the council , such as plastic trays , tin foil , small electricals and Tetra Paks . They have been a well-respected and trusted service for many across the city . Unfortunately , in December the Magpie team announced the discontinuation of their service . From the emails we receive , it is apparent that their absence is being felt by many of you .
Robert Jones-Mantle , one of the people behind the Magpie Green Box service , lives in our ward . As a zero-waste , circular economy campaigner , he has proposals for a more unified local approach to waste collections across the city . These are proposals he would like to collaborate on with the council . His entrepreneurial mind is still at work .
From May 2025 , new materials will be recycled as part of the council ’ s waste contract . You will be able to put the following materials in your kerbside or communal mixed recycling collections :
Plastic pots , tubs and trays ( PTT ) – such as yoghurt pots , fruit trays / punnets , margarine tubs , and soup pots
Food and drink cartons – including Tetra Paks ( fruit juice , plant-based milks etc .), gravy tubs , crisp tubes , kids drink cartons , soup cartons Aluminium foil and foil trays Collections for plastic pots , tubs and trays ( PTT ) will start from May – so please refrain from adding these items to your kerbside recycling bins until then . You risk contaminating the load , which results in entire loads going to the incinerator in Newhaven . One resident asked us what they could do with these materials in the meantime , now Magpie have discontinued their service . One option , where space allows , is to save up these materials until the service starts in two months ’ time . Alternatively , look to reduce your use of single-use plastic through refill options . We appreciate this isn ’ t viable for everyone , but would like to make a shout out to Hunglish and Kindly who both run refill services for this area . Hunglish home deliver for convenience .
For cartons , there are existing recycling bins in our ward on Blackman Street , New England Street , Regent Street and Upper Road . Regent Street also has a Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment ( WEEE ) recycling bin , in case you weren ’ t aware .
We are often asked why we didn ’ t recycle more or do food waste collections while many other authorities do and given Brighton has a Green MP and has had a Green administration council . Councillor Tim Rowkins , the current Labour Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services , suggested last month that Greens have “ perpetuated a myth ” that the recycling contract signed by Labour in 2003 could not be changed . This is not a myth , and we want to take this opportunity to explain why expanding the service is possible now , and why it wasn ’ t possible before .
There have been a number of roadblocks for previous Green colleagues to contend with and none of them were straightforward . When Greens took the administration in 2011 , we were keen to improve recycling provision for the city . We added extra funds to enable more items to be recycled including a push for a food waste pilot , however , this was voted down by Labour and Tory councillors at the time . As a minority administration , decisions needed the support of opposition groups , and Labour refused to offer theirs .
Costs and a lack of funding was another critical component . The council was indeed signed up for 30-year contract with Veolia . The previous Green administration was told at the time that there would be a significant cost to enable any amendment to the service .
As far back as 2018 , Caroline Lucas and Green Councillors visited Veolia . When they asked about PTT plastics , they were told that a third of PTT plastic was recyclable with an end market ; a third was technically recyclable but had no end market and so was unsalable ; and a third was non-recyclable . In addition , to retrofit their facility to handle PTT plastics they were told Brighton and Hove City Council ( BHCC ) would have to pay £ 500k up front and then an additional annual contribution to collect the items . The added problem was that the PTT plastics didn › t have an end destination at the time – there was no legislation in place to incentivise the recyclability of those materials . So these plastic items would either go to the incinerator or be shipped abroad ( both not ideal ).
There was also the toxic culture at the core of BHCC ’ s in-house waste service provider , Cityclean , to contend with . Change is always difficult , and unions are keen to protect jobs and the rights of their members . An equal pay dispute kept reform of waste collections off limits and caused city-wide strikes . You may have seen that in 2023 , an independent inquiry was carried out by Aileen McColgan KC , which uncovered inappropriate behaviours by GMB reps , and there has since been significant restructure across that department .
In 2020 , under a Green administration , a
feasibility study was conducted and plans were afoot to recycle PTT plastics , but without the support of burdens funding from central government . Since then , central government introduced long-awaited legislation , through the Environment Act 2021 , to ensure all local authorities recycle everything they can . When national laws pass , they can create costs to councils to enact the legislation , so « new burdens » money is often awarded by central government to help cover this . That additional funding has only just come in , which is a large part of what has enabled the current Labour administration to make these changes .
So , the long saga may soon be over . Our Labour colleagues have done well to bring about this change to the recycling service , and we celebrate that achievement . They have benefited from timing and the removal of significant roadblocks that prevented the expansion of waste collections from being enacted any earlier .
Of course , while recycling is important , we do have concerns about whether items are recycled correctly and it ’ s always better not to create waste in the first place and to reuse where possible . Recycling single use plastic pots , tubs and trays is ultimately an unsustainable practice . As some councils in the UK already send some of their plastic abroad , we might see more going abroad due to the new legislation requiring all councils to collect and recycle plastic pots , tubs and trays . Single use plastic deteriorates through the recycling process and most often gets recycled only once , before being incinerated . When we consider these factors – we have to ask ourselves – is it worth it ? Can we adjust our lifestyles to reduce the volume of single use plastics that we consume ?