Shropshire has one of the highest quantities of waste per household in the country

It's been revealed that Shropshire has one of the highest quantities of waste per household in the country, costing Shropshire Council over £33.5 million per year to collect and dispose of.

The council is encouraging residents to think about their rubbish, and in particular, what more they can do to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.

In order to do this, the council has recognised the need for a new Waste Minimisation Strategy, along with the appropriate resources needed to research, develop, consult upon and deliver it.

Consideration for a new strategy will be made by councillors at the Place Overview Committee on Thursday 29 September 2022, before being considered by Cabinet later this year. 

Joyce Barrow, Shropshire Council’s Chairperson for Place Overview Committee, said:

“Despite our best efforts, we are still producing too much waste. It’s not sustainable and we all need to do something about it. 

“Climate change is impacting us all every day. We see some signs more visibly, but others are less evident. We have seen the impact of extreme weather events at home and overseas. In Shropshire, we have experienced flooding and have more recently experienced extreme summer heat and drought.

"Climate change reduces our ability to grow crops and impacts harvests. It impacts on water and energy supply chains and leads to biodiversity and habitat loss. We are already seeing the cost of our weekly shop increase following the hot, dry summer we have just experienced.  

“We, as a council, have made our commitment to address climate change, and we’re working with our partners to deliver the Climate Action Plan. However, we need to keep doing more, both within Shropshire Council as an organisation, and as individuals.  

“There is a lot of work to do, but we can start to make a difference now by carefully thinking about the things that we buy, how we use them, and ultimately how we dispose of them.” 

In the past two decades, Shropshire’s residents have responded to the call to recycle. From a countywide performance that was in single figures, to now consistently recycling and composting well over half of Shropshire’s household waste.