Questions about changes to bin collections

Communications started on 10 June. We have issued a press release, refreshed our web pages (rubbish and recycling), produced a series of social media posts, updated the contact centre phone messaging system, displayed information on the sides of our refuse collections vehicles, and placed adverts in Bolton News. In addition, we have produced information leaflets, which include your new collection dates, which will be hand delivered to all households in Bolton across a number of weeks from 17 June. The new service will launch from Monday 15 July.

We are seeing a significant reduction in the purchase of newspapers as news becomes readily available on our screens, and the same applies to paper in general. When our crews visit properties, they are seeing many beige bins that are not full. This doesn’t deliver maximum efficiencies for the service, particularly when considering the cost of operating a bin wagon.

There are simple steps you can take to free up space in the beige bin.

Flatten thin cardboard boxes like cereal and tissue boxes before putting them in your recycling.

If you have big cardboard boxes from online shopping, they can be reused for storage in the attic, arts and crafts for the kids, or simply to package parcels.

If you cannot reuse large cardboard boxes, you can take the following action to fit it in your beige bin:

• flatten/deconstruct it
• cut it down to smaller pieces
• carefully fold it to fit inside your bin horizontally so that you can still fit things on top

If you have lots of cardboard, for example from a house move, you can take it to your nearest household waste recycling centre.

There are simple steps you can take to free up extra space in the beige bin, such as flattening cardboard boxes. See the response to the above question.

Following the introduction of 4 weekly beige bin collections (after 15 July), if you feel there is still not enough space in the bin, you can call 01204 336632 to request a waste audit. The waste audit, completed by an experienced recycling officer, will establish if space in the existing beige bin is being maximised and all materials are recycled correctly. A recycling officer will subsequently confirm whether a second beige bin can be approved. If approved, it will be subject to an administration and delivery fee of £12. Once this payment is completed a bin order will be placed. Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery.

We can certainly understand that sometimes you are overrun with cardboard boxes, particularly if something large is ordered like a TV or a self-build cabinet. We suggest that you take the following steps:

Step 1
Follow the handy tips above in the response to what can I do to make the most of the space in my beige bin? This really can make a big difference to your bin capacity.

Step 2
You can place neatly folded cardboard next to your full bin on collection day. It is your responsibility to ensure the following:

• it is easily visible to the bin collection teams and not wrapped in a plastic or bagged
• it is free from contaminants such as polystyrene and plastics
• it is secure and can withstand wind. If it blows away, you are responsible for retrieving it
• ensure the visible, secure, dry, and neatly folded cardboard can easily fit inside your emptied bin with the lid closed. For safety reasons, our bin collection team can only use bins to place materials into the wagon. They cannot throw materials into the wagon by hand. Once your full bin is emptied, the team will place your cardboard into your bin, and lift it again into the wagon

Step 3
If you think you can't meet the above requirements in step 2, you can do one of the following instead:

• wait until your beige bin is emptied
• take it to the nearest recycling centre at either Salford Road or Raikes Lane
• book a bulky item collection online by ringing our contact centre on 01204 336632

We currently have a very high recycling rate at 49.5%, when compared to the national average of 43.3%. This is based on 2022/23 defra audited figures. We expect the proposed bin collection changes to have a minimal impact on our recycling rate.

Yes, you can. Please call 01204 336632 to arrange for your bin to be exchanged.

Yes, we will return for missed bins, in line with our policy for missed collections (section 4.3). In the first instance, please check our missed streets webpage to see if your street is listed and we are aware of it. If your street is not listed, you can report it by clicking the button at the bottom of the webpage. We return for missed collections within 48 hours of the scheduled collection day.

You should avoid burning paper, cardboard or any other waste as this is damaging to the environment, contributes to local air pollution, and can cause a nuisance to your neighbours.

Over the years, residents have continued to recycle bottles, cans and jars and we have not seen a significant reduction in the amount of burgundy bin materials presented by residents for recycling. We have therefore decided to keep the current collection frequency in place.

Your property will be allocated a bin collection day. This may be a different day of the week to your bin collection schedule prior to 15 July. Our website provides your next 3 bin collection dates for each coloured bin. You will notice that your day of the week for bin collections may be different after 15 July. So, for example, if your new bin collection day is a Monday, please refer to our website (or the calendar sent in the post) to see which coloured bins you need to put out.

In August 2023 we decided to rationalise our refuse collection vehicle fleet to single chamber vehicles. While these newer vehicles are more reliable and energy efficient, they can only collect one product at a time, which will mean that more than one vehicle will visit your street to empty your recycling bins.

No. We will continue to use standard sized refuse collection vehicles.