Walsall residents urged to take part in waste strategy consultation

Portfolio holder for street scene, Councillor Suky Samra, said Walsall Council’s ambition is to become a ‘zero waste to landfill authority’, ensuring that waste is treated ‘as a resource, not a burden’.

The consultation asks nine identically worded questions, each asking whether concepts like ‘partnerships’ or ‘policy implementation’ should be targeted actions in the waste strategy, without clarifying their practical implications or differences.

While the questions are unlikely to spark any meaningful responses, the council’s draft waste strategy titled ‘Waste Not, Want Not: Walsall’s Journey to Sustainability’ is worth a read and can be found on the consultation webpage.

Part of the report details Walsall’s recycling performance. Our recycling rates in the borough are average for the West Midlands region at 32 per cent, whereas top performing authorities in England recycle over 60 per cent of their waste.

Individually, we are creating 383.2kg of waste per resident per year, more than other West Midlands authorities and England’s national average.

While the figure is higher compared to other councils, it is much lower than the 2014/15 figure where each person produced 410kg per year.

The report also outlines future plans for changes to our waste collection services, including the introduction of weekly food waste collections.

The plans include the opening of the new ‘super tip’ later this year, formally known as the Middlemore Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre.

In 2026, the Fryers Road tip will be redeveloped and Merchants Road tip will be closed.

Also next year, all households in Walsall will be issued with a small food waste caddy and a larger kerbside caddy for weekly food waste collections.

Earlier this year before Councillor Mike Bird became leader, he had criticised the council for not choosing to invest in an anaerobic digestion machine in order to collect the food and garden waste together in the brown bin.

The cabinet members at the time rejected the recommendation as combining the food waste with garden waste was found to be ‘considerably more expensive’ and hadn’t been ‘tried and tested’.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in June after being chosen as leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Bird said he would review the mandatory food waste collections scheme, which has been ‘utterly unpopular’ and ‘look at alternatives’.

Moving forward into 2027, the draft strategy states that collections will be put in place for film packaging and plastic bags for households and businesses, as well as the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

The DRS is a government scheme where people buying plastic bottles and cans will have to pay an additional deposit, which is refunded when the empty container is returned to a collection point.

Councillor Samra said: “This is about building a cleaner, greener and more sustainable borough together.

“We’ve made progress in recent years—but we know we must do more. Reducing waste and improving recycling rates is good for the environment, saves money and helps us futureproof our services. We’re asking everyone to get involved and help shape our future direction.”

The consultation period will run until August 21, 2025. To take part, click here.