Changes to waste collections from June 2026

How has the Council decided who has space for the additional bins and who doesn’t?

Officers have undertaken direct assessments of properties, using criteria set out in the revised Household Waste & Recycling Collections Policy. All residents will be written to later in 2025 to confirm the outcome of their assessment, confirming if they will receive a standard or non-standard waste collection service. Properties with communal bins will be affected by the changes slightly differently and further information will be shared in due course as to what this looks like.

Properties deemed unsuitable for the Standard Waste Collection Service, and therefore receive a Non-Standard Collection Service, will have been assessed to have one or more of the following criteria, as set out in the Household Waste & Recycling Collections Policy:

• Steep Slope/Bank
• Number of steps
• No garden (both front and back)
• No external access to waste receptacles (i.e. only presented by access through property)

As part of the assessment process the following discretionary criteria will also be taken into account and one, or more, of the following criteria may also denote a non-standard property:

• Uneven surface
• Gravel access
• Alleyway
• Restricted access for vehicle or crews
• Communal collection point
• Small front/rear garden
• Located within a conservation area
• Only available receptacle storage under window
• Storage location presents a potential risk to household security

If a property receives a non-standard collection, what will the household receive instead of a 240l wheeled bin?

Where a recycling bin is not an option, up to 4 x 55ltr stackable boxes (with lids to keep contents dry) will be provided per bin. This is to ensure these households receive a similar capacity as those with a standard waste collection service.

For refuse, 52 black sacks will be provided annually.  

All residents will be written to later in 2025 to confirm the outcome of their assessment, confirming if they will receive a standard or non-standard waste collection service.

The Council is currently assessing all properties across the District to determine the available space for additional waste containers. Based on this assessment, we will be sending letters in late Autumn 2025 to inform residents of how their property has been categorised, either for wheeled bins or boxes.

Once you receive this letter, if you believe your property has been categorised incorrectly, there will be an opportunity to request a review. Full details of the review process will be included in the letter you receive.

Please note that the criteria for re-categorisation are limited, as outlined in our new Household Waste and Recycling Collections Policy, and residents will be required to submit evidence as part of the process.

As of the 1 June 2026 waste collections to flats will also start to change. These changes include:

• Providing internal food waste caddies to flats
• Weekly food waste collections starting from 1 June 2026
• Communal kerbside collections starting from 1 June 2026 which include:
  • Glass, metal and plastic recycling
  • Paper and card recycling

Before your new service starts, we will be writing to you to explain how your new collections will work.

To qualify for a communal waste collection, a property must:

• Be a property with multiple households that cannot accommodate individual waste receptacles
• Share a bin store or collection point
• Have a suitable designated location for placement of the bins
• Have an agreement with Managing Agent / Housing Association / Landlord / Residents and the Council regarding the collection and storage requirements