Following our announcement on Wednesday 26 October 2022 that we will be moving to three-weekly waste collections in 2025 we have prepared some answers to the frequently asked questions we’ve been asked.
Questions
When are three-weekly collections due to start?
4 August 2025, as part of the contract with our new partners Veolia.
Why are you changing the service?
- To reduce landfill, make it easier for residents to recycle, and achieve government targets for recycling household waste (60% currently, and 65% for 2035. We are at 51%)
- To meet government requirements for councils to:
- collect and recycle 'food waste' and 'cardboard and paper' separately, and
- collect and recycle 'soft plastics/plastic bags and wrapping’ (we are collecting these in our ‘mixed recycling’ bin – they don’t need to be separated)
- Changing collection frequencies to every 3 weeks, and aligning services between East & North Herts, makes delivering the required service efficient and sustainable
- The changes were agreed in response to the public consultation held in the summer of 2022, at the North Herts Council's Cabinet and East Herts Council's Executive meeting in October 2022. Further updates were made in December 2023, with a confirmation of the waste service decisions in July 2024
Why was I not made aware of the waste and recycling consultation? / Why was the consultation only published online?
The consultation ran from 22 July to 22 August 2022 and was communicated on a regular basis during that time through our e-newsletter, on our website, across our social media channels, and a press release sent to all local press on 22 July which was featured in The Comet on the 28 July. The consultation was also discussed at the Extraordinary Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 September.
Why were the results of the consultation not published?
The results on the consultation were published on our website ahead of the Extraordinary, Overview and Scrutiny meeting on Wednesday 28 September 2022. They were also included in the minutes of the same meeting.
They were further published as part of papers for our Extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 25 October 2022.
Are you the first council to consider three-weekly collections?
No, an increasing number of councils in England, Scotland and Wales already have three-weekly collections for general waste, with some in Wales and Scotland having monthly collections. Brighton Council are currently considering monthly collections.
Won’t this lead to an increase in fly-tipping?
There is never an excuse for fly-tipping, and we have no reason to believe that residents will start breaking the law in this way. Items most commonly fly-tipped are bulky items or trade waste, neither of which are collected as part of our collection service. We are confident that with added recycling options at the kerbside, more information to encourage recycling, and support in place for larger households.
Won’t three-weekly collections attract vermin and other pests?
There is no evidence to suggest that residents would see an increase in vermin or other pests, especially as food waste would still be collected every week. We will have support in place for households that need it, such as those living in larger households, those with multiple children using disposable nappies or people with other special waste needs.
Why are you issuing the new blue-lidded bins from May, when we can't use them until 4 August?
This is because we need the delivery company to get over 200,000 bins and sacks out to our residents, ready for August. This will take time, and we need those in place before the new service starts.
How did you come up with the proposal for three-weekly collections?
We need to reduce our carbon emissions to help fight climate change and save money in the current landscape of rises costs and find savings to mitigate against increasing council tax.
Local councillors from all political parties from North Herts and East Herts Councils were involved in a series of workshops to help shape the proposals. We also used the results of the 2022 public consultation about residents’ recycling habits which found:
- Nearly half (49%) of respondents’ purple bins (for general waste) are either half-full or quarter-full when it’s time to be collected – 18 people told us their bin was empty!
- 84% of respondents agreed the council should do more to make people recycle more and reduce waste and 74% of residents agreed the council should invest in or change services to reduce its carbon footprint.
- 76% of respondents said ‘I care about the environment and climate change and do my bit’.
Are there any other changes proposed?
- We will be collecting cardboard and paper separately, in a new 240l blue-lidded bin that will be delivered to you from May 2025, ready to use from 4 August 2025. This means that you will no longer be recycling cardboard in mixed recycling.
- Some households will receive a re-usable plastic sack for their cardboard and paper waste, instead of the bin. These sacks will be delivered where houses and flats have no off-street storage, or there are terraced properties which front onto the road who are not storing bins in their rear gardens plastic.
- From 4 August you will be able to recycle loose plastic bags and plastic wrappings in your blue-lidded mixed recycling bins. This will further reduce waste in your purple bin for general waste. This can’t currently be recycled at the kerbside but is accepted for recycling at some supermarkets.
What evidence is there that less frequent collections reduce waste?
Daventry District Council adopted a three-weekly general waste service in 2018 and have had the highest fall in general waste of any local authority in the country at a drop of 13%. This table shows the waste reduction of three local authorities in Wales:
Does this mean we will be getting a larger purple bin?
Your current 180l, purple-lidded non-recyclable waste bin will continue to be used. This will encourage more recycling as our waste composition shows a significant proportion of general waste is made up of recycling and food waste which should be placed in other bins.
We will be providing an additional 240l blue-lidded cardboard and paper bin, which will free up room in the 240l mixed recycling bin for more recyclable waste. From 4 August, you will be able to recycle loose plastic bags and plastic wrapping (often known as soft plastic) into your mixed recycling bin, which will further help to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste.
What support will be given to large families and those needing extra support?
People requiring assistance with bin collections are currently known to us and will continue to be supported.
The following households are eligible to apply for extra capacity:
- Larger households with 6+ permanent residents
- Homes with 2+ children under 36 months
- Adults using incontinence items/with medical needs
How will this work for flats with one communal bin that fills up and overflows by the end of the week?
For the majority of residents of flats, and residents with communal bins, the frequency of waste collections will not be changing. We will contact residents where this is not the case.
What can I do to reduce waste?
Reducing waste is linked to what you buy and the packaging that items are contained in. To truly reduce waste then buying only necessary items and items with less packaging is part of our challenge of reducing waste. For the waste that you do produce check out our recycling A-Z on our website to ensure you are recycling all you can.
To create more space in your recycling (grey bin) – wash and squash plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, cartons and tins, and break cardboard down to make more room in your recycling bin. You can also recycle a number of items at local drop-off points with Terracycle, such as toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and dental care, makeup and Pringles tubes.
Food – try to plan your meals around what needs using up and don’t forget to freeze leftovers and excess fresh ingredients – check out Love food, Hate waste. Put any food waste, including meat and bones, as well as peelings, in your food waste caddy.
Paper – if you haven’t got one please request a blue box specifically for paper, which is much better than putting it in your grey bin with other recycling, even a small amount of food residue on recycling makes paper less easy to recycle.
Textiles – any unwanted clothes, shoes, towels, bedsheets etc – even damaged – can be taken to your local charity shop or clothes bank. Please keep damaged items separate and label as ‘rags’. Check with your local shop which are happy to take rags, some animal shelters will also take old bedding.
Soft plastics – plastic film/wrap like bags, crisp packets and wrappers, can be recycled at a number of supermarkets.
Local tip – check what you can recycle at your local Herts recycling centre such as coat hangers and old plastic garden furniture.
You could also check out Herts Sustainable Periods and Herts Reusable Nappies.
What should I do with excess waste?
We don’t expect excess waste to be a regular problem for the average household and will have support in place for households that need it, such as those living in larger households, those with multiple children using disposable nappies or people with other special waste needs.
If you have extra recycling, for example after a party, you can place this out for recycling next to your grey bin, either in a reusable box (which collection crews will return) or in a recyclable cardboard box or paper bag.