Black bin collections in Bristol could shift to a three or four-weekly schedule by the year’s end. The city council is holding a public consultation about potential sweeping changes to waste collection services. Bristol Live readers are unhappy with the thought of fewer rubbish collections and say they will be left with overflowing bins.
Bristolians recycle just under half of their household waste, and local government leaders are keen to enhance this figure. Notably, much of what ends up in the black bins could actually be recycled.
Currently, Bristol’s recycling rate stands at 45 per cent – the highest amongst England’s major cities, although there has been a recent decline. The proposed less frequent collection of black bins might prompt residents to recycle more, which would not only cut council costs but also benefit the environment. Public feedback is being gathered until March 10 through a consultation on these proposed measures.
Green Party Councillor Martin Fodor, who chairs the environment policy committee, commented on the situation: “We have quite a good recycling rate but unfortunately it’s dipped, and we also have escalating costs. If we can divert more waste to recycling, there’s more income, and that helps fund the service.”
Despite the anticipated changes, many Bristol locals are already experiencing issues with missed bin rounds, a problem brought on by recent budget reductions. There is growing concern among residents that these problems might worsen.
Commenter Hhyde says: “A couple years ago, the council made the bins smaller. This was a smart decision to drive up recycling. We all agree recycling is the best way forward. However, we see time and time again that Bristol Waste is very poor at being consistent in their collection of recycling. This has to be solved. I am all for less frequent collections but this is a cost reduction measure to remove labour and plant from the service. The knock on effects of this will be areas of high density population becoming even more rubbish-strewn. I’m keen to hear how council staff are going to get cleaner streets and reduce costs.”
KaptainVon wonders: “If the drop off in recycling could be down to a certain level of cynicism in residents that their recycling will actually be collected? Last year in our area there were 11 missed collections, that equates to 21%. As I type our recycling has not been collected for two weeks despite several of us reporting it. Unfortunately missed collections also mean a greater chance of waste, particularly plastic waste getting into the environment.”
Zzzz1919 states: “I am very much in support of reducing waste, increasing recycling and being more sustainable, however I do not think that this is the answer and if we are going to see a reduction in the bin emptying frequency – will this cost saving be passed on to us as the council tax payers? I think not, we will continue to pay for a service we won’t be getting and have to deal with the overflowing bins on our door steps for the privilege!”
Cdubs agrees: “Without the proper infrastructure to make this work this will be a disaster. We already have to navigate our way through overfull bins everyday on the school run, with recycle boxes left out with broken glass, tins and more. A two weekly household waste collection is just about manageable, if you want people to recycle more you need to make this easier.
“The tiny boxes for recycling leave the risk of being used by others to dump mucky waste in. There are no easy to reach drop off points where people might put cardboard, and larger recyclable items. I strongly suspect that this is less about recycling and more about saving money and will only be of benefit to the more wealthy areas of Bristol who have regular street cleaning and fly tipping attended to in good time.”
Dazzerc complains: “I have a family of 4 and I recycle everything I can, but my bin is still full up before the 2 weeks, I won’t be able to manage on 3-week collections, especially with dog waste in the bin too. So once again my council tax will go up for fewer services.”
Fisherman19 agrees: “No matter how Bristol council ‘package’ this latest bin collection service we all know it is just a money saving device which will result in overflowing rubbish. Our council taxes increase by the maximum allowed each year with extra charges for things that were included previously. This is not the way to ensure public cooperation.”
Thecookedsock writes: “Hats off to Labour delivering the best performing core city in terms of recycling rates. In terms of increasing collections to 3 or 4 weeks, it will only bother the people who aren’t recycling properly, so all good.”
Bs3bob agrees: “Those complaining about overflowing bins are those who don’t recycle properly. With the exception of larger families with nappy age kids, no way should you get anywhere near filling a black bin in 2 weeks, and should be fine with 4. What do people throw away to fill a black bin? Recycling boxes however need to be bigger.”
Are you happy with the proposed changes to bin collections? Should more people be recycling? Have your say in our comments section.