Bin collection changes – your questions answered

Residents’ concerns about the proposed new system of household bin collections in Bury are being answered by the council. 

Comments have been made in response to plans to create a ‘zero waste’ borough, which aims to boost recycling, save more than £800,000 per year and reduce carbon emissions.

The proposals were approved by the council’s cabinet on Wednesday 16 July and the new collection system will be introduced from the second week in October.

To help residents understand the changes, the council is publishing a comprehensive list of Questions and Answers on its website – go to http://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9855

Under the new collection regime, the grey bins (for non-recyclable waste) are collected every three weeks rather than the current two. The blue and green recycling bins will be collected more frequently (every three weeks rather than four), and the brown bin (for food and garden waste) remains at a fortnightly collection. Most households will continue to have a collection of at least one type of waste every week.

Councillor Susan Southworth, deputy cabinet member for the environment, said: “Understandably, there has been a lot of interest in these plans since they were made public, and people have been voicing their concerns or support. Some have asked questions about how the proposed new collection system will work for them, and I hope that the list we have compiled will answer most of those.

“One of the most asked questions has been from residents who have large families, and want to know if they can apply for an extra grey bin. The answer is yes; we will continue to offer large families the chance to apply for a second grey bin if they can show they are recycling everything they can and still need extra grey bin space. For households with extra recycling we can also provide extra recycling bins. 

“Another frequently raised topic was whether people would have enough space in their bins for their waste. Under the new system, the total weekly bin space that residents will have across all their bins will not change – across all four bins, the space will stay the same as it is now. It is also worth remembering that, not so many years ago, Bury residents had only one bin for all their household waste.

“A number of people have raised the question of increased smell from the bins. Any cooked or uncooked food waste should be placed in the brown bin, which is not affected by these changes - it will continue to be collected fortnightly. To help make food waste recycling cleaner and easier we also
provide a free kitchen caddy and free compostable food liners.  And there should be no hazard to health if, before going in the grey bin, disposable nappies are folded up, bagged and tied up and the same applies to any animal waste.

“Some people who have recently down-sized their grey bin to a 140-litre bin have asked if they can go back to a full-sized 240-litre bin. We would ask these residents to please give the new system a try for a couple of collections. If you recycle everything you can in your recycling bins you may well have enough space, but we will swap the bin for a larger one for any households that are unable to manage.” 

Cllr Southworth added: “Back in 2011, when the grey bins moved to a fortnightly collection, many people had concerns and questions then. But the vast majority of residents were able to cope, and Bury’s recycling rate shot up from 29% to 47%.  But, given that we know that up to 75% of household waste can be recycled at the kerbside, we know we can and must do more.

“We will be sending all households an information leaflet explaining the changes by the start of September followed by an information pack with advice on how to recycle more and put the right items in the right bin. We will also be visiting areas across the borough, talking to residents about recycling and helping to remove any barriers there may be to making recycling a normal part of daily life.

“It costs Bury £10.2 million a year to treat and dispose of waste from grey bins, much of which could be recycled. As in 2011, we need the support of residents to create a greener borough and make sure that money doesn’t go to waste but rather goes to help support other public services.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 17 July 2014.

Notes to editors:

The full Cabinet report can be downloaded from Bury Council’s website at
www.bury.gov.uk/councilmeetings

The list of Questions and Answers is at: http://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9855