Household rubbish collections could move from weekly to fortnightly in an effort to make residents recycle more of their waste.

The proposal is part of the council’s draft recycling strategy, which aims to improve the borough’s below-average recycling rate from 32% to 50%.

The strategy also proposes separating garden waste and food waste, currently collected in the same brown bin, in line with “UK government wishes”.

At a climate scrutiny committee meeting last night, deputy leader Clyde Loakes said the shift to fortnightly collections would force residents to “make better use” of their recycling bins. 

He told councillors: “This isn’t a new thing in terms of local government – it’s the norm now to have a residual waste collection that is not weekly.

“We are learning from boroughs that have done this already, the ones that have done well and not as well.

“Bearing in mind we already have the capacity in our bins to deal with the levels we have, we feel that we’re in a good place to bring this forward.”

According to the draft strategy, households with “six or more inhabitants” or specific medical needs would be eligible to receive a larger black bin. 

The proposals would also not affect homes above shops or on estates, which have separate waste collection arrangements.

To gauge public support for the proposed changes, Waltham Forest carried out a public consultation which received 2,757 responses.

According to a report before the committee, 55% of those who answered supported the council’s proposals.

Cllr Loakes said the recycling strategy is still an “emerging draft” and will be seen by the committee before it is approved by council leaders. 

The overall strategy to improve recycling rates is guided by the Mayor of London’s target to increase recycling rates to 50% by 2030.

Estimates suggest that last year the borough’s recycling rate was 32%, falling 3% since 2014/5 and below the average of 44% for the whole of England.

Much of the rubbish that goes into black bins, including waste that should be recycled, is currently burned to produce energy at an incinerator in Edmonton.

Waltham Forest declared a climate emergency in 2019 and set up a climate change commission, which suggested moving to fortnightly waste collection.