Your bin collections are changing...

Letters will soon be landing on the doormats of every home in Plymouth to tell people about their new bin collection arrangements.

From 8 May the city will have an alternate weekly collection system, which means households will have their recycling – the green bins – collected by Plymouth City Council crews one week and their non-recyclable rubbish – the brown bins – the next.

Over 118,200 letters are being posted out  to provide people advice about how the changes will affect them. The new collections are designed to encourage people to think more about recycling as well as help keep the city’s streets cleaner and more clutter-free.

Most areas of the country – 75 per cent of councils - have already successfully introduced this type of collection, which has led to recycling rates increasing by up to nine per cent.

Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and the Environment said: “We appreciate this is a big change, so are writing to everyone to let them know what we want them to do.

“We want people to recycle more and have also included a leaflet to remind them of what we can and can’t recycle here in Plymouth.”

As well as letters to every home, there is an ongoing social media and marketing campaign and if people have not received letters, information is on the Council’s website. There have also been a number of roadshows around the city to talk to local people about the changes and there will be more of these in the coming weeks.

They will also be able to check their bin day by typing in their addresses at www.plymouth.gov.uk/checkyourbinday

Assistant Director for Street Service, Lou Hayward, added: “A huge amount of work has been carried out, including mapping routes, assessing problem areas and working out which round was doing what.

“As this is such a big change for everyone, we are also using this as an opportunity to remind our staff of our guidelines as well as residents about how we want people to put their bins out, when and what to put in them.

“In a nut shell, put your bins out before 6.30am on collection day (but not before 6.30pm the evening before) and bring them back in on the day the bins have been emptied and don’t put rubbish – or side waste – next to your bins.

“We all want a cleaner and greener city, but need everyone to do their bit to help us make this happen. We will be able to take enforcement action against those who persistently ignore these guidelines.”

In addition to this new system, changes are being made to the city’s garden waste collection which will now run on a separate round. It will be picked up every fortnight until 31 October, but may no longer be picked up on the same day as people’s green bin. The letters will also tell residents their new garden waste collection day. People can also check this information online at www.plymouth.gov.uk/checkyourbinday.

To create more space in your bins

•          Recycle more!
•          Flatten cartons and cardboard boxes to make more room
•          Reduce the amount of food waste you throw away

More information about what to recycle in Plymouth has been included in the leaflet which has gone to every home, but there is also information on www.plymouth.gov.uk/whatgoeseachbin and roadshows are currently going on around the city.