Residents in the Stokes should by now have received a bin hanger (an information card hooked over the lip of the black bin) informing them of the details of South Gloucestershire Council’s new weekly recycling service which is due to be introduced from Monday 19th June.
Under the new regime, households will be able to put all of their recycling containers out for collection every week, along with their food recycling bin, instead of having different recycling containers collected on a staggered two week schedule.
Black bins for non-recyclable waste and green bins for garden waste will continue to be emptied every fortnight.
Residents will still need to sort their recycling for collection but can choose to use their existing containers or green boxes instead of bags for plastics and cardboard.
The weekly collections will mean there are fewer containers to store at home, whilst encouraging more people to use the service.
The council’s bin hanger describes two options for sorting recyclable items across two or three containers and/or bags, leading to criticism that the new system is over complex (see reactions on social media, below).
The scheme being implemented differs from that described in the council’s draft waste strategy put out for public consultation in 2015/16, which proposed that residents would be able “to use the containers how they wish” with collection crews separating material at the kerbside.
The council is making additional recycling boxes available to those who require them and these can be collected at a number of recycling roadshows being held across the district (see below for local events).
Boxes will also be available for collection at the council’s Sort It recycling centres between 5pm and 6pm every day from Monday 5th June to Friday 9th June. The closest to Bradley Stoke is the one in Station Road, Little Stoke.
Later this year, the council will be introducing smaller black bins (140l instead of 240l) for non-recyclable waste. The overall aim of the changes is to meet long term financial and environmental targets.
More information is available at www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit or by phoning the council on 01454 868000.
Photo: One of the council’s new ‘Romaquip’ recycling collection vehicles.
South Gloucestershire Council Waste and Recycling Roadshows
An opportunity to find out more about the upcoming service changes and collect additional recycling boxes that you might require.
Reactions on the Bradley Stoke Journal Facebook page
Joanna K: So frustrating! Is going to cause such a confusion! Surely it’ll take months until people remember that we are to put plastic with cans now… Why change? They should be glad we’re doing the sorting for them.
Adrian C: Very confusing. I haven’t got a clue what I can put out with what and I thought the smaller bins were being collected once a week! How can a council be so useless? Time to abolish the lot of them.
Andy E: I don’t think the council could do anything more to put people off recycling if they tried. Keep changing the containers, sorting rules, valid items, and the collection days. Charge for collecting garden waste in an area where nearly everyone has a garden. And introduce restrictions at the recycling centres – and periodically change those too.
Kim T: Get a grip people! Just put it in the right bag or box and put it out once a week. Nothing complicated about that.
Bin hanger distributed in May
This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on pages 36 & 37). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
What will happen if I just put everything into the same crate?
I have not received a Bin Hanger, where can I obtain one from?
@Andrew O, @Liz: These are questions for the council. You can phone them on 01454 868000.
Changing black bins from 240l to 140l is stupid as I have two young children in nappies and in 2weeks our black bin is full. I really don’t know how we are going to manage with a 140L bin. Think family’s with 1 or more children should be allowed to keep the bigger bins or you think of providing nappy bins for family’s that will be affected with a smaller black bin.
@Kay Quote from an SGC briefing note published in July 2016:
“A separate container for disposable nappies will be provided to families that need it. This is currently planned to be in the form of single use sacks. They can be used only for nappies and will be presented alongside the 140 litre black bin.”
See: https://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Waste-Strategy-briefing-note-July-2016.pdf
It is expected that the council will provide further information prior to the introduction of smaller black bins later this year.
You just know in 2 years time they will decide we don’t need weekly recycling after all as it’s too expensive and go back to the current alternate system, only we’ll still have the 140L bins.
But I think the Black Bins are still only going to be collected fortnightly anyway? It’s only the recycling that is weekly!!
@Wayne, Yes, that is stated in the article (para #3): “Black bins for non-recyclable waste and green bins for garden waste will continue to be emptied every fortnight.”
Our recycling was due to be collected on Thu, 22nd June. It wasn’t.
South Gloucestershires web site states due to the heat, some collections will be delayed but all will be done by end of Saturday.
I beg to differ, it is Monday morning and every house in Cornfield Close still has its recycled collections waiting.
What is going on? SGC will not answer the phone! Are we supposed to continue to leave the recycling out on street?
After nearly three hours, I got through to the council! They have updated their website
http://www.southglos.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/
Whilst I do sympathise with them over the weather last week, to suggest that rubbish was not collected because the street was blocked is rubbish.
The whole street has rubbish not collected, not just a few houses away from the main road!
Missed recycling collections during the week commencing 19th June are being discussed on the BSJ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BradleyStokeJournal/posts/1523814177668753