What they said

A Rubbish Outcome
Electoral expediency and refuse costs lie behind the latest council tax figures

'The real solutions are a radically simplified tendering process for waste disposal contractors so that more of them bid, more competitively; a serious effort to require food manufacturers to cut back on packaging; and vastly more practical household recycling systems.'

Amen. And, one might suggest, investment in any and all ways that
are attractive by incentive or reward to the individual householder and/or
consumer, such as repair, reuse and reduction.

Recycling, while very worthwhile, still pretty much puts the onus on the
individual to act as an unpaid sorter and logistics operative for councils
and vastly overpaid contractors who are motivated more on targets
than any benefit to the environment. And all funded to the tune of
multi-tens of millions by poorly monitored monopolistic quangos with
more interest in empire-building than seeing money go to where it can
and should to deliver the most benefits.

The people know it, and are getting to resent funding words, pensions
but no actual delivery.