FAQs Bin Collection Changes

Most residents will receive a new bin and the service will involve three weekly collection of:

• Mixed paper and cardboard in one bin
• All other dry recycling – glass, plastic bottles, pots tubs and trays and cans and foil – with a new addition of plastic bags and film in another bin
• General (non-recyclable) waste
• North Herts Council’s weekly food waste collection service will remain unchanged
• East Herts will be introducing a new separate weekly food collection service, similar to our existing service
• Garden waste will remain fortnightly 
  
   

Yes, you will be getting a new purple lidded 180 litre bin for your general waste (waste that cannot be recycled or composted) you will also receive a new 23 litre caddy for your food waste that we will be collecting from you weekly. When you receive your bin you will receive all the information you need, including details of how your black bin will be used for recycling and your blue lidded bin for cardboard and paper.   

East Herts and North Herts Councils are aligning the colour of bins so that all replacement or new bins will have a black/grey body with a coloured lid. This will save the council money in the long term and enable us to repair and reuse bin parts more easily. 

The short answer is to reduce the amount of waste we collect which is not recycled, by encouraging more residents to recycle more and reduce their waste. The changes will also reduce the cost of service provision and mitigating council tax increases and the districts carbon emissions and help us fight climate change. Research shows that extending the frequency of general waste collections would encourage people to recycle more and in turn reduce what we send to landfill.

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. We are considering the proposals alongside North Herts Council for our shared waste service and contract which comes to an end in 2025

Recent analysis of refuse bins in East Herts found that food waste made up 30% of the contents. Removing this with a new weekly collection, whilst recycling everything you can at the kerbside, will mean your refuse bin will have much less waste in it than it does now. We know that many residents can create more space in their recycling bins by squashing individual items too. The changes will also mean that residents who do not currently recycle, or who are not actively reducing their waste, will begin to do so. 

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 and others who need it, residents will continue to dispose of their waste responsibly.

There is no evidence to suggest that residents would see an increase in vermin or other pests, especially as food waste would be collected every week in a separate food caddy. We would have support in place for households that need it, such as those living in larger households, those with multiple children using nappies or people with other special waste needs.

• 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%. 
• Since introducing three or four weekly collection cycles in 2013/14, several local authorities in Wales have seen a significant reduction in residual waste:

We are proposing that the vast majority of residents move to a three weekly collection cycle for their residual waste (refuse bins). 

Some blocks of flats already have special arrangements in place due to lack of storage. We would review these, but many are likely to receive more frequent general waste collections than the standard three-weekly cycle.

Our policies for waste collection will be reviewed thoroughly in spring 2023. Although details are not yet agreed, in most circumstances, large households, families with children in nappies and those with additional medical needs will be eligible for fortnightly collections.

We will be providing support and information for all residents as to how they can reduce their waste and recycle more.
 

We know that three weekly general waste collections in a 180 litre bin will not be suitable for some households. Therefore, we have given special consideration to those households with waste generated because of a medical condition and those who have to use adult hygiene products. Depending on the circumstances we will either provide a larger waste bin or continue to provide a fortnightly collection of the general waste bin.

In addition we also know that large families or those with children in nappies may find that a 180litre bin is not large enough, therefore those households can retain their 240 litre bin or apply to have a 240 litre bin. This is the same process we have in place now and is subject to completion of an application and meeting the criteria set out in our collection policies. Some residents may find information on reusable nappies useful Herts Reusable Nappies.

We would encourage everyone to reduce all waste, including their recycling, as this is much better for the environment. You may find you naturally have fewer items to recycle or dispose of if you opt for low packaging options or select reuse alternatives. With your existing recycling, you may also find that crushing and squashing your waste, especially cardboard, cans and plastic bottles, will give you extra space.

In summer 2025 we will be issuing every household a 180L purple lidded bin for general waste. There are some exceptions for example people who already have one, residents who have been granted extra capacity or those sharing bins. Your 240-litre black bin (currently used for general waste) will be converted into your co-mingled recycling bin, this will be used for cans, plastics, bottles, jars and foil. Your blue lidded bin will become a fibre bin, used for paper and cardboard. We will provide more information on these changes nearer the time. 

It is estimated that three weekly collections will save 60 tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to driving over 100,000 miles in an average car, offsetting some of the increases in emissions from the mandated separate collection of food waste. Removing food waste from the residual waste stream and sending it for composting will also save around 65 tonnes of CO2e, further mitigating the vehicle impacts of this mandatory change.

We ran a consultation for residents in summer 2022.

The consultation ran from 22 July to 22 August 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 

They were further published as part of papers for our Executive meeting on Tuesday 25 October 2022 and can be viewed here:  Agenda for Executive on Tuesday 25th October, 2022, 7.00 pm - East Herts District Council

August 2025 after our new collection contractor has been operating for a few months

We need to save money in the current landscape of rising 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 a recent 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’.

We know that when the existing waste contract ends in spring 2025, costs will rise considerably. The aim of the proposals is to minimise the impact of these rises on our contract costs so that we do not have to increase council tax any more than is necessary. Your council tax bill will not be reduced. 
 

It’s great that you don’t need to use a larger bin, however it’s very costly for us to exchange bins that don’t need replacing. We are therefore unable to offer reduced size bins to houses that don’t need replacements.

The change in bin size is to encourage residents to waste less. The majority of food waste can be home composted, and we hope that residents are proactively avoiding food waste which is not home compostable. We considered rolling out ‘new’ 180L bins to all households, however it is more cost effective for us to do this ‘as and when’ bins need replacing when they break. Many Councils have changed from providing 240L bins for residual waste to smaller bins without separate food waste collections. As we are introducing the smaller bins in a phased approach this will take some time to complete. This approach will make the change more cost effective and better for the environment. We would like to encourage residents to think about what they are throwing away and whether they could recycle more and waste less. 
 

Yes, bins we cannot repair can be collected when we deliver your replacement bin. In order for us to replace damaged bins they must be made available on the boundary of your property from the day you submit the request.

Flats are not affected by this change and will continue to receive fortnightly general waste collections as they already have less residual waste capacity than houses of a similar occupancy. 

Yes, the paid for garden waste service will continue to be fortnightly with the exception of the two weeks service break after Christmas.

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 or more recyclable 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 (black 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.

Food – try to plan your meals around what needs using up and don’t forget to freeze leftovers check out Love food, Hate waste for more ideas.

Paper – if you haven’t got one please request a blue box specifically for paper, which is much better than putting it in your blue lidded 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 
• Herts Reusable Nappies
• Herts Confident Continence 
   

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.