The issues associated with waste collection are complicated, and involve multiple factors. Different councils have adopted different approaches and it remains to be seen which emerges as the best overall.

Here is the manifesto suggested by Guildford Environment Forum, who we work closely with.

GUILDFORD ENVIRONMENT FORUM
WASTE MANIFESTO

We believe there should be a zero waste policy, and that landfill and incineration are a poor use of valuable resources, and so in future, all products should be made with a  ‘Cradle-to-Cradle approach.

1. All of us should aim to reduce, reuse and recycle.
2. We should aim to avoid products with excess packaging.
3. We should all aim to use local producers, which can or will reuse containers.

• A large proportion of waste product is from packaging, and the Forum believes that there should be separate collections of different coloured glass, card, papers, metals and plastics, and the Council should aim to get best price for these materials.
• The forum will support the Council in providing a kitchen/food waste collection and recycling service (the preferable case would be for the Council to provide subsidised garden cones and worm bins for households to compost at home- but there are those who can not, or will not home compost kitchen waste); the Forum would prefer the composting was done within the borough.
• The Forum will support the Council in providing a garden waste collection and recycling service, with compost available for sale as a mulch or container compost (the preferable case would be for the Council to provide subsidised bins for households to compost at home- but there are those who can not, or will not home compost garden waste); the Forum would prefer the composting was done within the borough.
• The Forum will support the Council in providing a collection of mixed waste in wheeled bins, but believe that this should be charged by volume/weight to provide an incentive to reduce and recycle.
• Retailers of electrical goods should take back the old product for recycling at no charge.
• Retailers who sell batteries should provide a collection and recycling service for the old batteries (the Forum supports the Council in providing a collection service).
• The Forum will look for national ‘best-practice’ for the Council to adopt.

Finally:

• The Forum would like to see a National waste policy, to avoid confusion among residents.
• The Forum would like to see a National policy that if a product cannot be recycled and reused, that it is not made, and that products are designed to avoid composite construction, so recycling is easier.