The way in which household rubbish and recycling is collected in Plymouth is changing
Plymouth Council have made changes to the way in which they will collect your rubbish and have moved to an 'alternate weekly system'. Under the new scheme brown bins will be collected one week and green bins the next week.
Why is the council making these changes?
The council says it is making the changes to increase recycling, which will protect the environment and reduce costs.
At the same time, it wants to make streets cleaner by stopping extra bags of rubbish being left next to bins.
What you need to do
To help make Plymouth cleaner and greener and to avoid any problems please:
Put your bins out at the right time on the right week
- Check which week to put your green and brown bins out using the calendar the council has sent you or check its online bin day checker
- Put your bins out before 6.30am on collection day (but not before 6.30pm the evening before)
Put the right stuff in the right bin
There should be enough room in your bins even though they will be emptied less often. Council research shows that most bins are currently less than three quarters full and that up to 20 per cent of rubbish in brown bins could have been recycled.
To help make sure there's enough room in your bin if you:
- Put all recyclables in your green bin
- Squash cartons and cardboard boxes to make more room
- Reduce the amount of food waste you throw away
Avoid smells and litter
You can help keep your street clean and prevent your bin from smelling by:
- Remembering to put the right bin out on the right week
- Using bags in your brown bin
- Wrapping any wet and smelly rubbish (this also helps avoid flies)
- Double-wrapping nappies and pet waste
- Keeping bin lids closed
- Not storing rubbish beside bins
Garden waste
Garden waste collections are made each fortnight between April 3 and October 31. In a bid to improve its service, the council will be changing the collection days from 8 May 2017. This means your garden waste bag may no longer be emptied on the same day as your green bin. The letter the council sent residents this month provides information on what your new garden waste collection day will be.
When to put your bin out
Please put your bin on your property boundary by 6.30am on your bin day - but not before 6.30pm the night before.
Bank holidays
Your bins will be collected one day later than usual if there's a bank holiday.
For more information, including how to report a missed bin, how to book a bulky waste collection and to check your collection days visit the Plymouth City Council Website