Contents
- What we want to achieve
- Community engagement
- Waste and recycling trials
- How the options and proposals are assessed
- How to have your say
- Current arrangements in each area
- Wheelie bin sizes
- What the options would mean for collections in each area
- Why we've chosen the options
- What happens next
What we want to achieve
Our aim is to reduce waste, increase recycling, and provide an improved service for our residents.
To achieve this, we have said that we want to create a single waste and recycling service for the whole of Westmorland and Furness.
Proposals for future waste and recycling collections in Westmorland and Furness are being independently assessed against the following six key criteria:
- Consistent Service – To what extent does it ensure everyone receives the same services across all areas?
- Improved Performance – To what extent does it make it easier and simpler for residents to recycle, to help improve recycling rates?
- Public perception – To what extent does it align with resident feedback from our ‘Community Conversation’ engagement, trial schemes and Options Consultation survey?
- Carbon Impact – To what extent does it reduce the carbon impact of the service and contribute to the council’s net zero ambitions?
- Strategic Fit - How well does it comply with Government legislation and our Council Plan ambitions?
- Achievability - How difficult will it be to implement, considering things like costs/savings, available resources, need to buy new vehicles, containers etc. and how long will it take?
We want to deliver collection services that make it easier and more convenient for people to recycle more and waste less, and that are more reliable, cost-effective and better for the environment.
Community engagement
In November and December 2024 we started initial engagement with our ‘Community Conversation’ on waste and recycling.
Nearly 3,000 people responded to the Community Conversation and gave feedback through a survey and at in-person and online events.
We used these conversations to gather your thoughts on the current waste and recycling collection services in your area – what you like, what you would like to change and what you’d like to see in the future.
Community Conversation summary results and analysis (PDF , 219KB).
Waste collection and recycling trials
Through the Community Conversations you have been sharing your thoughts about different collection systems and what improvements and changes you would like to see from waste and recycling collections.
In response, we have been trialing different collection methods and containers, including a trial of ‘co-mingled’ recycling in Ulverston and a trial of wheelie bins in parts of the Eden area that currently have bags for general waste collections.
We have also started to roll-out the kerbside collection of beverage cartons (such as Tetrapak), starting in the Eden area, after feedback that you wanted to be able to recycle these types of items more easily.
How the options and proposals are assessed
The Council has inherited a complex mix of collection methods, frequencies and types of containers used in the former district areas of Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland.
Some of our services are delivered by Westmorland and Furness Council, and others are delivered by contractors. Alongside the ongoing engagement, we are undertaking an independent technical review of the current and proposed waste and recycling collection services options to help ensure a fair, efficient and effective waste and recycling service for our residents.
We are looking at the financial implication of alternative options to understand if they are more or less cost effective than the current service.
Cost is not the only driver for change, we are assessing the various options against factors like:
- How they fit with national legislation?
- Do they make services fairer?
- How they would impact the environment?
- Whether they are sustainable?
- Whether they are achievable?
The future of our waste and recycling collection service will be decided by the council’s Cabinet in September 2025.
Further consultation will be required in some areas, for example the decision on whether or not to charge for garden waste collections will be included in the Budget Consultation, and a decision on that will be made by Full Council.
This is what we have assessed so far:
General waste
| Option | Initial assessment |
|---|---|
| Do Nothing (no change) | This option would not support the council’s aims to reduce waste and increase recycling, nor its vision to have a fair and equitable waste and recycling service and would mean current inconsistencies and differences between the three areas would remain. |
| Weekly Collections | Just over half our residents currently receive weekly collections, but the capacity of the bins/bags used now is less than the capacity of 240 litre wheeled bins, which would be used if we had fortnightly collections. A weekly collection for everyone would be more costly as it will require additional vehicles and staffing and would increase carbon emissions. |
| Fortnightly Collections | Almost half our residents currently receive fortnightly waste collections. This option would provide 240 litre wheelie bins for everyone. Using 240 litre wheelie bins would mean the capacity for general waste would remain the same or increase for everyone and the same volume of waste would be collected, but over a longer timeframe. This option would therefore be more cost effective, requiring fewer vehicle journeys and resulting in reduced carbon emissions. |
Note: Both the weekly and fortnightly collection options would use wheelie bins, either one 180 litre wheelie bin for weekly, or one 240 litre wheelie bin for fortnightly.
The initial assessment has suggested the option which has the best fit is: Fortnightly Collections of general waste
Recycling
| Option | Initial Assessment |
|---|---|
| Do Nothing (no change) | This option would not support the council’s aims to reduce waste and increase recycling, nor its vision to have a fair and equitable waste and recycling service and would mean current inconsistencies and differences between the three areas would remain. |
| Weekly Collections | We do not currently offer weekly collections of recycling. The introduction of weekly recycling collections would result in a higher cost for the service. Although this may contribute to improved recycling rates, the environmental benefits of the improved recycling rates would be offset by the increase in vehicle journeys and associated carbon emissions. |
| Fortnightly Collections | All of our residents receive fortnightly collections. There would be no significant change for our residents. |
| Alternate Fortnightly | Alternate fortnightly collections means that residents would receive one bin (paper and card) emptied one fortnight and the other bin (glass, metal, plastics) emptied the following fortnight. This would reduce the number of vehicles required and the associated journeys and carbon emissions. |
Note: Both fortnightly and alternate fortnightly recycling collection options would use wheelie bins, either two 180 litre wheelie bins for fortnightly collections, or two 240 litre wheelie bins for alternate fortnightly collections
The initial assessment has suggested the options which have the best fit are: Fortnightly and Alternate Fortnightly recycling collections
Green Waste
| Option | Initial Assessment |
|---|---|
| Do Nothing (no change) | Some areas currently have a separate charge for green waste collections, in other areas there is currently no charge. The ‘no change’ option would result in unequal levels of charges across Westmorland and Furness, based on different geographic locations. Harmonising arrangements would also help improve collection performance |
| No Charge | Having no separate charge for green waste and offering this service to all residents would add significant additional cost to delivering the service. It is estimated a no charge service for all residents would result in budget pressures for the service in the first year of circa £0.5m |
| Partial or Full Charge | Introducing a harmonised charge - either a charge for each green bin collected, or one green bin collected at no charge, but having a charge for any additional green bins - would support improvement to service performance |
Note: All types of service – full or partial charge, or no charge - would use 240 litre wheelie bins, with fortnightly collection
The initial assessment has suggested the options which have the best fit are: Partial or Full Charge.
How to have your say
The options consultation launched on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, and runs for eight weeks. You can participate by completing our online survey.
We want to ask you further questions to help us make a decision on the new collection services for Westmorland and Furness. The survey includes questions about how often we make collections and whether or not green waste should be subject to a separate charge.
These are still only options at this stage.
Please complete the Consultation Survey
Your opinions and views really matter to us. We will take them into account before Cabinet makes a decision later in 2025. We are very grateful to everyone who tells us how they feel about the proposed changes by completing the survey. Thank you for time and your responses!
More information
Current arrangements in each area
| Collection | Barrow | Eden | South Lakeland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General waste | 120 litre wheelie bin Weekly collection | Blue bags Weekly collection | 240 litre wheelie bin Fortnightly collection |
| Recycling | Box for glass 240 litre wheelie bin for cans, plastics, paper and card Fortnightly collection | Box for glass and cans Bag for plastic Bag for paper and card Fortnightly collection | Box for card and paper Box for glass Bag for plastic and cans Fortnightly collection |
| Green Waste | 240 litre wheelie bin Fortnightly collection (50 weeks per year) Optional service subject to separate charge | 240 litre wheelie bin or, in some cases without a kerbside collection, communal garden skips Fortnightly collection (February to November) Monthly collection (December to January) No separate charge | 240 litre wheelie bin Fortnightly collection (February to November) No separate charge |
What the options would mean for general waste and recycling in each area
General waste
| Option | Barrow | Eden | South Lakeland |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Change | 120 litre wheelie bin Weekly collection | Blue bags Weekly collection | 240 litre wheelie bin Fortnightly collection |
| Weekly Collection | Replace current 120 litre wheelie bin with 180 litre wheelie bin Collections stay weekly | Replace current blue bags with 180 litre wheelie bin
| Replace current 240 litre wheelie bin with 180 litre wheelie bin Collections become weekly |
| Fortnightly Collection | Replace 120 litre wheelie bin with 240 litre wheelie bin Collections become fortnightly | Replace current blue bags with 240 litre wheelie bin Collections become fortnightly | Retain current 240 litre wheelie bin Collections stay fortnightly |
Recycling
| Option | Barrow | Eden | South Lakeland |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Change | Box for glass 240 litre wheelie bin for paper, card, cans and plastic Fortnightly collection | Box for glass and cans Bag for plastic Bag for paper and card Fortnightly collection | Box for card and paper Box for glass Bag for plastic and cans Fortnightly collection |
| Fortnightly Collection | Replace current box and 240litre wheelie bin with two new 180 litre wheelie bins, one for plastic, cans and glass and one for card and paper. Collections stay fortnightly | Replace existing boxes and bags with two new 180 litre wheelie bins, one for plastic, cans and glass and one for card and paper. Collections stay fortnightly | Replace existing boxes and bags with two new 180 litre wheelie bins, one for plastic, cans and glass and one for card and paper. Collections stay fortnightly |
| Alternate Fortnightly Collection | Replace box with 240 litre wheelie bin for glass, cans and plastics. Retain current 240 litre wheelie bin for card and paper. | Replace existing boxes and bags with two new 240 litre wheelie bins, one for plastic, cans and glass and the other for paper There would be a fortnightly recycling collection alternating | Replace existing boxes and bags with two new 240 litre wheelie bins, one for plastic, cans and glass and the other for paper There would be a fortnightly recycling collection alternating |
Wheelie bins and sizes
The options use different wheelie bin sizes. Below is an illustration of the sizes and dimensions of the wheelie bins.
Wheelie bin measurements
- 240 litres: height 1060mm, width 575mm, depth 730mm
- 180 litres: height 1060mm, width 480mm, depth 730mm
- 120 litres: height 950mm, width 480mm, depth 530mm
Why we've chosen the options
Why we're considering fortnightly general waste collections, instead of giving everyone a weekly collection.
We're trying to weigh up various factors when we make our final proposals, including resident feedback from the current consultation and assessing options against the six key criteria. This includes cost effectiveness, environmental impact and achieveability.
While we recognise a weekly general waste collection may be greeted positively and be perceived as an ‘improved’ service by some - and why we have included it in our options for comparison - a weekly general waste collection for the whole of Westmorland and Furness would result in significant additional costs and a negative carbon impact due to the additional journeys that would need to be made by collection vehicles.
Evidence from national studies also suggests weekly general waste collections discourages recycling, with more people likely to put recyclable materials in their general waste bin if it is emptied every week.
The studies show less frequent general waste collections can act as an incentive for people to use their recycling containers more effectively.
For these reasons, the vast majority of local authorities now adopt a fortnightly general waste collection or greater (some authorities have recently moved to three-weekly or even monthly general waste collections to encourage better use of recycling facilities).
A weekly collection of general waste would also be costly to implement, requiring significant extra investment to extend weekly general waste collections to the whole of Westmorland and Furness, potentially requiring extra vehicles, and associated fuel, maintenance and staffing costs, as well as the cost of purchasing and delivering new general waste wheelie bins to all properties.
For context, there are currently 55,000 grey/black 240litre wheelie bins for general waste in service across the South Lakeland locality. Under a fortnightly collection option, these 240litre bins would continue to be used and would not need to be replaced, therefore saving significant implementation costs.
Why all the options proposed are moving away from using bags and boxes to wheelie bins for waste and recycling
Feedback from the Community Conversation and early feedback from pilot trials in areas that have previously had bags for general waste has shown that wheelie bins are considered easier and more convenient for people to use than bags for general waste.
For recycling, pilot trials have shown wheelie bins are generally easier to move to collection points, do not take up any more room than bags and boxes and make it simpler to recycle more effectively. They also do not have separate lids that can get lost and are generally heavier and more robust than separate bags and boxes so are less likely to blow away in windy conditions.
They are also quicker and easier to empty for crews, which improves the efficiency of rounds and saves money and leads to a more reliable service.
Why all the options have different types of recycling mixed together in wheelie bins, instead of asking people to separate different types of recycling
In the past most councils asked residents to separate recyclable materials by type, so you may have had different containers for paper and card, plastic, cans and glass.
This used to ensure the most efficient sorting and packaging at the recycling facility and was considered the most effective way to guarantee everything collected was sent for recycling and avoided contamination.
As technology has improved at the recycling facilities, it is now possible to ‘co-mingle’ more recyclables in the same container and the latest machinery can efficiently identify and sort mixed loads into different types and grades of material.
That means, even if certain materials are ‘co-mingled’, everything we collect at the kerbside is sorted and sent for recycling. Unless it is contaminated with non-recyclable materials, no recycling we collect at the kerbside is sent to landfill.
This new technology means we can consider collecting more recyclable materials together in the same container, which would save some of the current sortingbetween different bags and boxes at home.
Evidence shows that making it easier for people to recycle by reducing the amount of separation needed at the kerbside encourages people to recycle more and waste less, which is one of the main aims of the changes.
Co-mingled recycling also means we don’t need special recycling vehicles, with separate compartments for each type of recycling material, and we can use the same types of bin wagons for collecting your recycling, general waste and green waste.
This makes the fleet more efficient and makes it easier to cover for any unexpected vehicle breakdown.
Emptying wheelie bins into these wagons, which have built-in lifting gear, is also quicker and easier for our crews so they can complete rounds more efficiently.
All this helps to improve the reliability of the service, reduces missed collections and increases recycling performance.
Why we need two wheelie bins for recycling, instead of one
Best practice guidance is that we should still collect card and paper separately so they don't get contaminated, but other recyclables can be 'co-mingled' in one bin.
Even though they go in one of the two wheelie bins, all these co-mingled recyclables are sorted at the plant and are sent for recycling. No recyclables that we collect at the kerbside are sent to landfill.
Our bin wagons have separate compartments inside, so even though it is being emptied into the same vehicle the recycling from the two wheelie bins wouldn’t be completely mixed together and paper and card can still be kept separate from plastic, glass and cans to avoid contamination.
Why we've chosen these wheelie bin sizes
Under an option for a weekly general waste collection, the wheelie bin would be a 180litre size, for a fortnightly general waste collection the wheelie bin would be 240litres.
A 240litre capacity general waste wheelie bin will comfortably take around five or six standard bin bags used in a 30 litre kitchen bin, which evidence has shown is more than adequate capacity for a typical family’s needs over two weeks if recyclables are removed.
Two 180 litre recycling wheelie bins under the fortnightly collection option, or two 240 litre recycling wheelie bins under the four-weekly collection option, would mean increased recycling capacity in most areas that currently have separate bags and boxes for recycling, with more capacity especially for cardboard and plastic, which are the largest volumes of kerbside recycling collected.
Increased recycling capacity and the convenience of wheelie bins makes it easier and more convenient for people to recycle, meeting one of our key objectives.
Arrangements for properties that do not have room for two recycling wheelie bins
The recycling wheelie bins under the fortnightly collection option are 180 litre size.
This means they are smaller and narrower than a 240litre general waste bin. Two 180 litre wheelie bins take up approximately the same floorspace as two recycling boxes and a recycling bag.
Two 240 litre recycling wheelie bins under the four-weekly collection option would take up more room than two 180 litre wheelie bins, but less frequent collections have the benefit of reducing costs and carbon impact.
These are the balances we are asking people to consider when completing the survey and sharing their views, to help us make a final decision on which size of wheelie bin and collection frequency would work best for our communities.
However, we do recognise that in some specific cases there may not be sufficient room for every property to have all the containers, such as flats and apartments and some types of terraced properties without yards. As we already do in such circumstances, we will continue to look at these specific cases individually and will work with the householder to come up with a suitable solution.
Whether we'll need to provide everyone with a new set of wheelie bins
It depends which options are eventually taken forward and where you currently live.
For example, if an option is chosen that uses a 240 litre bin for general waste, then 55,000 residents in South Lakeland who currently already have a 240 litre grey/black wheelie bin for general waste would keep their current bin.
Residents in Barrow, who currently have a 120 litre bin for general waste, and residents in Eden currently on a blue bag system for general waste, would receive a new 240 litre grey/black wheelie bin.
If an option is chosen that extends the green waste collection service to all households at no additional charge, then residents in Barrow not currently paying for the optional green waste collection would be able to receive a new 240 litre wheelie bin for garden waste. Other areas would keep their current 240 litre brown and green wheelie bins for garden waste.
Replacing lots of wheelie bins and containers will add to overall costs of the programme, so options that minimise the need to replace existing wheelie bins and containers will rate better in cost comparisons, but those options may not be the best for other things, like carbon impact or public perception once we’ve seen the results of the options survey.
All these factors will be weighed up when making the final decision on the new waste and recycling collection system later this year.
Why we're considering charges for green waste in the options
Councils are required by law to collect garden waste separately from other waste and recycling and councils are allowed to levy an additional charge for the service.
65% of all local authorities in England now charge for garden waste collections as a non-essential, opt-in service.
Not everyone needs or uses the garden waste service. Having a subscription charge means those that use the service help to pay for its running costs and those that do not use the service, do not pay for it.
Delivering a free fortnightly green waste collection to every household in Westmorland and Furness would be costly, both financially and environmentally.
The extra cost of delivering this universal free service would contribute to an overall increase in the cost of the waste and recycling service and may not be affordable. It would make it difficult to achieve any savings or efficiencies and the extra journeys needed for a universal free garden waste service would have an increased negative carbon impact.
We are also aware that in many areas, particularly in larger towns like Barrow, Kendal and Penrith, there are a significant proportion of households that don’t have gardens and are either older terraced properties with yards or they are flats or apartments, so may have little or no requirement for a green waste collection service.
Under a consistent collection model for the whole of Westmorland and Furness, if we applied a system with a universal free green waste service we would have to offer all households a green waste collection, regardless of how much they use it. That means we would need to plan and resource a green waste collection for every household, buying enough bins for every household, finding solutions for those who live in flats or apartments, and having the vehicles and staff to make collections from every household.
Introducing a subscription green waste service, subject to a small additional charge, would mean only those households that would make use of the service would need collections and we could use the income generated from the additional charge to resource those collections to those households signing-up to the service.
This would also reduce the demand for the service and number of collections required, saving money on fuel, maintenance and vehicles, and would also reduce the negative carbon impact of the service.
We have included an option for a no charge garden waste collection in this consultation to allow people to consider this system alongside options for a full or partial subscription green waste collection, to allow people to consider all these factors.
Why we're not considering a weekly food waste collection as an option at this time
As you may have read, the Government’s Simpler Recycling in the Environment Act has now come into force. That means that, from April 2026, local authorities will be required to collect plastic, paper and card, glass, cans, garden waste (which can be charged for separately) and weekly food waste collections.
As a new unitary authority, Westmorland and Furness Council has been given an extension to this timeline, which means we have up to 2034 to implement weekly food waste collections.
The first stage of this process will be to ensure that the new collection service options that we are considering now are compatible with the addition of food waste collection in the future.
For reassurance, at present, food waste collected in Westmorland and Furness as part of the general waste collection does already get re-processed and does not go to landfill.
All non-recyclable general waste collected in Westmorland and Furness is taken to a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant (MBT) in Barrow where it is processed to produce a fuel which is then used in cement kilns and energy from waste plants to produce electricity.
At the MBT, the waste is shredded and placed in an aerobic fermentation area. Air is drawn through to help aid the biological breakdown of the waste. After 12 to 15 days in the area, the waste is processed into refuse derived fuel which is then used in cement kilns and to produce electricity in energy-from-waste plants.
How an alternate fortnightly recycling collection would work
This means that you would have:
- one bin (paper and card) emptied one fortnight and
- the other bin (glass, metal, plastics) emptied the following fortnight
In other words, each bin would be emptied monthly.
What happens next
Once we have analysed the results of the options consultation survey results and resident feedback from trial schemes, this evidence will be considered alongside the independently assessed business case, which will look at costs of the different options, carbon impact and how it fits with strategic priorities, to inform final proposals that will be subject to agreement by councillors.
Once the new waste and recycling collections model has been agreed later this year, residents can expect to see the first changes starting to be implemented by the end of 2025, with the majority of service revisions in place by the end of 2027.