Waste Collection Schedule Changes Implemented for Incineration in South Leicestershire

Waste collection schedules for residents in certain areas of south Leicestershire are being altered to facilitate waste incineration. Modifications to the disposal method for waste originating from specific areas within Harborough district will result in revised collection schedules for several towns and villages. The district authority has been informed by Leicestershire County Council that the Cotesbach landfill site will cease to be utilized for the area’s waste. Consequently, household waste from Harborough that is not designated for recycling will be transported to the Coventry Incinerator. For residents residing in Market Harborough, Great Bowden, Little Bowden, and Lubenham, waste collection will now occur on Wednesdays, shifting from the previous Tuesday schedule. Conversely, collections previously scheduled for Wednesdays will be moved to Tuesdays for individuals in Ashby Parva, Bitteswell, Broughton Astley, Catthorpe, Claybrooke Magna and Parva, Cotesbach, Frolesworth, Leire, Lutterworth, Shawell, Sutton in the Elms, Swinford, Ullesthorpe, and Walcote. These adjustments are scheduled to become effective on Monday 4 November. Councillor Darren Woodiwiss stated: “Approximately 25,000 properties within the Harborough district will require a collection day change to keep the service efficient and effective.” This transition follows a BBC analysis which indicated that the incineration of household refuse in large facilities for electricity generation currently represents the least environmentally clean method of power production in the UK. The BBC’s examination of five years of nationwide data revealed that waste incineration generates an equivalent volume of greenhouse gases per unit of energy as coal-fired power, a method the UK ceased utilizing last month following the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council commented: “Our waste strategy aims to reduce waste, increase recycling, and avoid the leftover waste going to landfill, and to meet the national target of sending no more than 10% of household waste to landfill by 2035.“All disposal options are considered and there is a preference to avoid burying waste for future generations due to the long-term environmental impacts.”