Residents across Basingstoke and Deane are being urged to look out for important bin collection calendars as changes to waste services prepare to come into effect next month.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is introducing the changes from Monday 12 October, with the aim of increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill or other forms of disposal. The changes are also intended to help the borough meet mandatory waste reduction targets set by the government.
Under those targets, the borough’s recycling rate needs to more than double, from around 30% to 65% by 2035. The amount of rubbish thrown away each year must also be cut by half by 2042.
From October, rubbish bins will be collected every two weeks, alternating with recycling collections. Food waste caddies will continue to be collected every week, while glass will remain on a fortnightly collection.
Personalised bin collection calendars are now being sent to households, with envelopes containing printed leaflets and cut-out-and-keep calendars expected to begin arriving on residents’ doormats from the end of this week.
The calendars have been produced specifically for individual properties and will show collection dates for all waste and recycling containers over the coming months. They will also include temporary changes to collections over the Christmas and New Year period, when schedules are adjusted to give crews time to catch up following the festive break.
Residents will also be able to check their collection dates online through the council’s bin collection service, which can be used once the printed calendar has run out.
The council says more than 40% of the material currently found in household waste bins could be recycled using the services already available across the borough.
Residents are being encouraged to make the most of recycling collections and reduce the amount they put into their rubbish bins. The council has refreshed its waste and recycling webpages and sent households a recycling leaflet earlier this year, with further advice included in the new collection calendars.
Information is also available about recycling a wider range of household items at the borough’s recycling sites, along with advice on reducing everyday household waste.
Cllr Laura James, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Housing, said residents should keep their calendars somewhere safe so they are ready for the changes on 12 October.
She said the calendars would make it clear if a household’s collection day was changing and when bins should be put out, while also providing useful information about what can be recycled.
Residents looking for further information about the changes, recycling more from home, disposing of household items, or requesting an extra or replacement bin can visit the council’s waste and recycling information.