THOUSANDS of households will breathe a sigh of relief as plans to reduce bin collections to once a month are set to be scrapped.
Bristol Council’s plans were first laid out last year and received a fair amount of backlash.
Now, the ruling Green Party has announced it will no longer support the move.
The council had launched a six-week consultation which included the option of switching to monthly bin collections.
It said the move would save more than £2million a year and boost recycling rates.
At the moment, the council collects recycled rubbish and food waste once a week while black bins are collected every two weeks.
The plans would have seen locals handling double as much waste as they’re used to by the end of the month.
Residents said the plans were “bonkers” and would “upset a lot of people”.
The decision to change the frequency of bin collections comes down to Bristol Council’s cross-party environment and sustainability committee.
This is chaired by Green Party councillor Martin Fodor, who said he had “made clear it was always unlikely to go ahead”.
“So based on what we’ve heard and the strength of feeling that this has generated across the city, the Greens will not be supporting any proposals put forward to move to four-weekly collections at this time,” he said.
“The full results of the consultation will be presented to a cross-party group to decide on any changes to our waste and recycling services.”
Both the local Labour Party and Conservatives had called on the council to scrap the measure, and 12,000 people had signed a petition against it.
Grace Billingham, 35, said at the time she was horrified by the proposal as she has two kids still at nursery, with one of them still using nappies.
She said all the plan would do is “increase fly tipping” and make it harder for families.
Kelly Haskins, 45, had said the streets would be littered if the proposal went ahead.
“It seems bonkers, if they tried to push it to monthly it will upset a lot of people.
“Your council tax goes up every year and people are in a crisis – I wouldn’t be happy with it.”
Meanwhile resident Hannah Winter, 51, and her partner Sharif Hussain, 59, believe the reduced services would be “a little crazy”.
They believed the potential stench could cause an issue.
Bristol’s recycling rate is at about 45% and the Green Party has pledged to increase it.
Last year, the recycling collected earned the city council £4.5million in revenue, while disposing of it would have cost the city £8.3million to process.
Councillor James Crawford, who also sits on the environment and sustainability committee, said: “There are many changes that we need to make as a city to improve our recycling rate.
“Larger recycling containers, better information on recycling, more consistent facilities and services in blocks and shared dwellings, and collection of soft plastic recycling are all things we can do.
“I look forward to seeing the full results of the consultation and working cross-party on what measures we can take to improve recycling for Bristol.”
Which other councils are considering reducing bin collections?
Other councils across the country are also considering plans to cut down on bin collection services.
Data from the Taxpayers’ Alliance last month revealed 42 town halls want to cut back on waste services in a desperate bid to save cash.
It said that could mean more than eight million people experiencing some kind of change to their bin collection schedule if all of the proposals went ahead.
Councillors in Carmarthenshire and East Ayrshire are also weighing up changing waste pick-ups to once a month.
Councils in North Ayrshire, Dundee and Angus are discussing shifting recycling to once a month.
Thirteen councils plan to extend fortnightly residual waste collections to three-weekly, the report said.
Among those is East Hertfordshire Council, which is also looking at slashing bin sizes from 240 to 180L.
Under the previous Tory government, ministers said residual waste must be collected at least fortnightly due to concerns over smells and vermin if it was less frequent.
But new guidance from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in November appears to remove that requirement.
Instead it simply says authorities should decide collection frequency “in a way that meets local needs and provides value for money for the taxpayer”.
The Sun previously reported that from 2026 councils will be instructed to only hand out four containers, either bags or bins, to households and workplaces.
This will include a bin for non-recyclable waste, a bin for food waste mixed with garden waste, a bin or bag for paper and cards, and a bin or bag for other recyclable waste.
The major bin overhaul addresses the confusion caused by the Environment Act 2021, which classed glass, metals, plastic, paper and card, and food waste as recyclable materials.
As a result, councils distributed separate bins for each material alongside bins for non-recyclable waste.
Ministers are hoping that simplifying the system will improve recycling rates.
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