Better bin rounds coming soon

Bury Council is introducing new bin collection rounds from 21 June to improve efficiency and provide a better service to residents.

When the new rounds are brought in there will be no change to how often bins are emptied, but collection days will change for most households. Around 5% (4,000 households) will have their brown bin emptied on a different day to their other bins (blue, green and grey).

The new rounds will save more than £150,000 per year and reduce mileage by at least 4,600 miles per year. Carbon emissions will also be reduced which will help towards climate change targets.

The new routes will be complemented by a fleet of 19 new vehicles, with 12 in service by June and a further seven by the autumn.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment and climate change, said: “It’s been nearly seven years since the collection rounds were last reviewed, and many new homes have been built during this time. Our crews are now collecting from almost 84,000 homes and the existing rounds have become out of balance.

“By reorganising the rounds our collection service can operate more efficiently and with just the right number of vehicles and staff. And, with a new fleet of vehicles in in place too, residents will soon start to see a better, more reliable service.”

Cllr Quinn added: “To begin with, though, please bear with our crews when the new rounds start from 21 June: they will need a little time in the first few weeks to become familiar with them.”

A series of communication materials will be delivered to residents to explain the changes and ease the transition from the existing to the new routes. Delivery of a pre-notification leaflet will start from today (10 May).

In a few weeks’ time an information pack will follow in a clearly marked envelope. With this will be a replacement 18-month collection calendar and a collection day leaflet.

Extra one-off collection leaflets will also be delivered to those households that would otherwise have to wait too long between collections as the rounds transition from the existing to the new.

Residents who have not yet signed up for bin alerts (email reminders for scheduled bin collections and live updates if collections are missed or delayed) are encouraged to do so ahead of the changes to collection days. Sign up at: www.bury.gov.uk/binalerts.

For more information about the bin collection service in Bury see www.bury.gov.uk/recycling

ENDS

Press release issued: 10 May 2021.

Picture: Carl Nieland, waste operations manager, and Councillor Alan Quinn with one of the new Rotopress vehicles.