What are the bin men going to do on the week they do not do the collection? Are they going part time?
I doubt it. Half of them will be working as hard as they are now. The other half will be looking for work. The waste company will have reduced costs, the council will have lower bills. Okay, I doubt it will be a 50% cut, given all the other issues - but sure as eggs is eggs, there will be job losses coming out of this.
Does the fact the waste has been sorted by householders significantly reduce costs at the waste management plant?
Good point. That's almost certainly true. The other thing that I just thought of - so no idea whether it's right or not - is that by getting the yucky, squishy food out of the grey bin, it's easier to sort out the contents of the grey bin into stuff that can be burned for energy and stuff that has to go to landfill. One of the things that waste companies complain about is 'contamination' - eg, putting food in the recycling bin, etc. This is probably the next stage by making separate provision for the material that causes the most mess - waste food.