New partnership deal agreed to reduce waste in Oxfordshire
The Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) has agreed a new bonus scheme to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
The new deal will supplement existing recycling credits within the county. Under the new scheme, the county's five waste collection authorities (WCAs) face performance bonuses or penalties depending on how much waste they collect for landfill disposal.
The scheme was agreed by the partnership at its meeting on 29 February and now goes forward for sign off by each of its partner councils.
The OWP has agreed annual residual waste targets through to 2020, which have been set to ensure that their Joint Waste Strategy targets are met. Each WCA receives the same residual waste allocation per household per year. If a WCA betters its target, then it receives a bonus payment for each tonne below that target. Equally, if a WCA exceeds its residual waste allowance then it pays a penalty for each tonne above its target. The bonus and penalty payments are set at half the value of a recycling credit.
WCAs will continue to receive a recycling credit for every tonne of waste that they recycle or compost, but from April 2009 this will be overlain by the new bonus and penalty scheme.
Oxfordshire is one of the lowest waste producers in the country and this year has a recycling and composting rate of around 40 per cent. The scheme has been developed to help further improve the partnership’s strong track record on waste reduction and recycling, and to help reduce future liabilities under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS).
Wayne Lewis, OWP Coordinator said: "The new scheme provides a stronger incentive for WCAs to increase recycling and reduce waste going to landfill. As well as rewarding good performance, it also means that those WCAs collecting high amounts of residual waste will, through the penalty system, contribute towards the costs of waste disposal.
"We’ve worked hard to develop a system that provides greater incentives for WCAs to reduce waste, while also trying to keep things simple and affordable."
Cllr Kieron Mallon, chairman of the OWP said: "The new arrangements demonstrate how strong the partnership has become, with each partner council now more focused and committed than ever to our key objective of reducing the amount of waste that we landfill."
