Bristol’s Black Bin Collections May Shift to Every Three or Four Weeks

Bristol: The city is looking at changing how often black bins are collected. They might go to every three or four weeks by the end of the year. The council wants to hear what residents think about this idea.

Right now, about half of the rubbish in Bristol gets recycled. The council hopes that by collecting black bins less often, more people will start recycling. This could save money and help the environment. They’ve kicked off a public consultation that runs until March 10.

Green Councillor Martin Fodor mentioned that while Bristol has a decent recycling rate, it’s dropped recently. He believes that if they can get more people to recycle, it could help fund the service. The idea is to encourage better recycling habits by changing collection frequency.

Interestingly, around 40% of what’s in black bins could actually be recycled. A lot of it is food waste, which could go into brown bins instead. Many folks don’t use those bins, and it’s estimated that each person throws away about £700 worth of food every year.

The council is facing rising costs for waste treatment, which have gone up by £4 million over the last five years. Plus, people are throwing away more cardboard since online shopping took off during the pandemic.

If more rubbish gets recycled, the council can sell the materials and earn some cash. This could help improve services and reduce missed collections. After the public consultation, councillors will review the feedback and make a final decision.

They’re also planning to introduce larger recycling containers, as many residents have complained about the current ones being too small. Reporting missed collections might get easier too.

Switching to a three-week collection could save the council £1.3 million a year, while a four-week collection could save £2.3 million. However, there are concerns about how this will affect families with babies or those using incontinence products.

Cllr Fodor pointed out that smelly items like food waste and nappies should be kept out of the black bins. There’s also the issue of soft plastics, which can’t be recycled at the curbside yet. People have to return them to supermarkets, which isn’t convenient for everyone.

Bristol is also looking to double the number of brown food waste bins available. The goal is to get more people using them, which would help with food waste management.

Despite these plans, many residents are still dealing with missed collections. Budget cuts have led to fewer crews being available, which has affected reliability. Cllr Fodor acknowledged the issues and is working to improve the situation.

He believes that managing costs better and increasing recycling income could lead to a more reliable service. Cllr Fodor has a background in community recycling, so he understands the importance of high-quality materials for recycling.

He’s seen how well-sorted materials can be turned back into new products, and he wants to ensure Bristol can achieve that too.