Pictured from left to right are Caroline Fisk, Street Services Liaison Officer, Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and the Environment, Lou Hayward Assistant Director for Street Services, Gareth Harrison-Poole, Head of Service (Street Scene and Waste), and Mike Berry, Supervisor, Waste Collection.

City council launches alternate weekly collections in Plymouth

Plymouth City Council is officially launching its new alternate weekly collections service on Monday 8 May 2017, as part of its plans for a cleaner, greener Plymouth.

This means that one week households will have their recycling (green bins) collected by council crews and the following week their non-recyclable waste (brown bins) will be collected.

The Council recently sent letters out to residents across the city about the changes, along with a leaflet about recycling. An ongoing awareness campaign was launched last month including roadshow events, advertising around the city and via web, social media and press. Residents can also check their new bin day via the Online Bin Checker here https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/binsrecyclingandwaste/checkyourbinday.

In addition to the new bin collections, there are changes to garden waste collections which mean that your garden waste may be collected on a different day to your green bin.

Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and the Environment for Plymouth City Council, said: “We know this is quite a big change for local people but most other areas of the country – around 75 per cent of councils - have already successfully introduced this type of collection and increased recycling rates.

“We want to make Plymouth a cleaner, greener city and we need everyone in the city to do their bit to help make this happen.”

Lou Hayward, Assistant Director for Street Services for Plymouth City Council, said: “Our staff have worked really hard to get these changes off the ground and we want to make it as easy as possible for local people to recycle and dispose of their waste correctly.

“If you’re not sure how the changes affect you then please use our online bin checker on our website – all you need to do is type in your postcode and it will tell you what day your brown and green bin collections will be, as well as your garden waste.

“We will be giving the changes a chance to bed in and we appreciate it will take people a while to get used to the new system. To ensure that everyone in the city is helping us to become greener, but where necessary, we will consider taking enforcement action once the new arrangements have been in place for a few weeks.”

To help make the new system a success, residents are being asked to:

Follow the guidance on the letter the Council has sent you to find out when you need to put your bin out and bring it back in.
Do not leave rubbish next to your bin – it will not be collected. Flatten items such as plastic milk cartons and cardboard boxes to create more room in your recycling bin.

To create more space in your bins:

recycle more
squash cartons and cardboard boxes to make more room
reduce the amount of food waste you throw away

For more information visit www.plymouth.gov.uk

Pictured from left to right are Caroline Fisk, Street Services Liaison Officer, Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and the Environment, Lou Hayward Assistant Director for Street Services, Gareth Harrison-Poole, Head of Service (Street Scene and Waste), and Mike Berry, Supervisor, Waste Collection.