A NEW plan to increase recycling in Wirral is set to be rolled out following a major consultation last year.

Wirral Council is investigating bringing in a new food waste collection service, which would see every resident receive a new, small bin to store food waste – which would then be collected every week.

The move was proposed in an effort to increase recycling rates in the borough to 50 per cent of all household waste.

While no final decision on the new service has been reached, new council environment lead Cllr Phil Brightmore says recycling needs to stay at the top of the agenda, and has put forward an interim plan to help residents recycle more.

He said: “Since coming into this post a few months ago, I have been reviewing the consultation feedback and talking to residents all across the borough.

“It’s absolutely clear to me that Wirral residents care deeply about the local environment and want to recycle more. It’s our job to help them and we must do better.

“Over the coming weeks we will be launching a new programme to provide advice, encourage recycling and make sure our residents have all the tools and information they need to dispose of their household waste in an environmentally friendly way.

“We still have a decision to make on introducing the food waste collection service. We’ve got to make sure we get it right, and I’ll be working with colleagues across the Liverpool City Region in the coming months to make sure we come up with the most efficient and cost effective option for Wirral residents, which helps all of us recycle more and improve the environment.”

The new plan to help residents recycle more will start in the coming weeks, and will involve:

Workshops and events throughout Wirral, demonstrating new ideas for how household items can be recycled, repaired or reused.

A new communications campaign, making sure every resident has the information they need on what they can recycle and how to do it.

Visiting schools, youth centres and community organisation to talk about recycling and giving residents face to face advice and support

Making sure every resident has the right bins in decent condition to help them recycle as much as they can

The Liverpool City Region is currently reviewing waste collection across Merseyside, with Wirral playing a leading role in the discussions. Proposals for how the service will be improved to increase recycling should be available later this year.