The council will now ‘consider’ feedback from its recent bin consultation with the public
Annette Belcher Digital Publishing Editor
11:30, 28 May 2025
Black bin collections for Bristol residents could be reduced to once every four weeks(Image: © SWNS)
The majority of Bristol households have said they do not want any changes made to the how often their bins are collected.
The council is reviewing bin collections in the city and asked the public for their views.
It follows a proposal to switch to collecting the bins every four weeks in Bristol being dropped by council chiefs after a massive backlash from the city’s residents.
Members of Bristol’s Waste and Recycling Task and Finish Group say they are now set to consider feedback from the recent Waste Options public consultation.
Bristol City Council says it needs seek to understand how Bristol can increase recycling rates, manage waste and recycling services sustainably and respond to changing national regulation, with significantly increased recycling targets for local authorities.
The group has been tasked with developing recommendations to meet changing national policy and regulation including achieving 65 per cent recycling rates by 2035, the introduction of kerbside collections of soft plastic packaging from 2027, and to reduce the amount of household waste going to incineration ahead of the expected introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028, which could incur significant costs for the city if current levels continue.
The recent consultation asked how people currently use waste and recycling services, what other materials residents would like to recycle more of in future and sought views on the frequency of bin collections.
There were 16,777 responses to the latest consultation.
Responses to proposed options for the frequency of non-recyclable waste collections:
- 14 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with a change to non-recyclable waste collection to every four weeks – 82p per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed
- 28 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with a change to non-recyclable waste collection to every three weeks – 63 per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed
- 71 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with there being no change to the non-recyclable waste collection frequency – 17 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed
- Respondents identified that additional capacity would be needed in existing recycling boxes and bags to help households recycle more:
- 48 per cent of respondents saying they would need extra space in their blue bag (cardboard and brown paper)
- 47 per cent of respondents saying they would need extra space in their green box (plastic and metal)
- 31 per cent of respondents saying they would need extra space in their food waste bin
- 26 per cent of respondents saying they would need extra space in their black box (glass and paper)
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Councillor Martin Fodor, chair of the environment and sustainability committee, said: “We want Bristol to be a healthy, well-run city which doesn’t damage the environment, and to ensure that residents have access to services they need.
“Our city’s waste and recycling system plays a vital role in achieving this ambition for Bristol. Changing government regulation, ambitious national recycling targets, a growing population and the changing needs of households make it critical we have a sustainable and reliable plan in place for how we deliver these services now and in the future.
“The recent consultation has produced an invaluable source of information about the changing needs of households across our city – the types of material households want to recycle more, what people want us to prioritise our efforts on and the challenges to recycling more waste. The sheer volume of responses received to the consultation demonstrates that this is a topic people care deeply about and it’s vital that we get our plans right.”
Councillor Abi Finch, chair of the Waste and Recycling Task and Finish Group, said: “I’m delighted to have been asked to chair the Waste and Recycling Task and Finish Group. We are now going to consider this comprehensive feedback from the public, along with other evidence, so we can put forward recommendations for how these services could look in the future, addressing the issues that matter most to people.”
The Task and Finish Group has said it will look at all aspects of the city’s waste and recycling services, taking on board information from multiple sources.
These include detailed findings from the recent Waste Options consultation, environmental impact data, equalities impact assessments, financial modelling and analysis of new regulations being put in place by government.
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