Brighton Greens promise weekly recycling collections

The party, which has now unveiled its manifesto for the local elections in Brighton and Hove, also committed to exploring ways of collecting additional materials for recycling.

However, the plans announced by the Greens would see general waste collections cut from weekly to fortnightly.

Councillor Hannah Allbrooke, deputy leader of the city council, said that both proposals would have a “real impact on improving recycling” in the city.

She also said that the Green-led administration had renegotiated the council’s recycling contract with Veolia, which has long been a point of contention due to restrictions over what items can be collected.

Among the accomplishments cited included allowing for the collection of hard plastics at waste sites.

Brighton and Hove’s recycling rate for the year ending March 2022 was 30.1 per cent, with the council prioritising work to increase recycling rates in the city.

Cllr Allbrooke also explained that the council has “always been honest” about its recycling rates and said that other local authorities do not present a full picture of how much of their waste is recycled.

She said: “We report what has actually been recycled - that’s why our figure looks artificially low when you compare it to other councils.

“A lot of authorities, particularly district councils who are only responsible for the collection, will say they recycle higher amount, when actually they probably recycle close to what we recycle and ship the rest abroad for landfill.”

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Cllr Allbrooke said that the Greens have been working hard to try and arrange for recycling collections for plastic pots, tubs and trays, but that this is hampered due to the difficulty in finding an “end market” within the UK.

She said: “I know people in this city would be absolutely distraught if we were shipping our recycling off to Malaysia, like a lot of other councils do.

“In the interim, we will improve what people can recycle within what we can control, and that includes food waste collection.

“We know it is possible and it will mean we will prevent a lot of waste from going to the incinerator.”

She also said that, by giving people weekly collections, more people will be encouraged to recycle.

“We are very lucky to have a city where people are so engaged in tackling the climate crisis and want to take more action,” Cllr Allbrooke said.

Councillors Hannah Allbrooke, Phelim Mac Cafferty and Siriol Hugh-Jones (Image: Brighton and Hove Green Party)

The party encouraged the city to “vote Green for action” and revealed plans to tackle a range of issues facing Brighton and Hove, in particular the climate crisis, inequality, health and the economy.

Some of the Green Party’s other manifesto commitments include:

• Building 800 more sustainable council homes by 2028
• Ending the “long delays” in developing the King Alfred Sports Centre by building a new sports facility in the west of the city
• Supporting tourism and key tourist destinations in the city to ensure their regeneration schemes are a success

Voters will go to the polls on May 4 to elect the city’s 54 councillors for the next four years.

Residents can register to vote by April 17 via gov.uk/register-to-vote.