In just a few months, the way that Milton Keynes City Council collects waste and recycling will be changing. Households across the city will be switching from the current plastic sacks to four wheeled bins, which is a far more modern and sustainable approach to disposing of waste. Most local authorities already use wheelie bins and making the switch will mean less rubbish on our streets and increased recycling levels.
From September, the majority of residents will be using wheelie bins. Households will continue to use their already existing green bins for food and garden waste, but also receive:
- Black wheeled bin – This will be used for waste that cannot be recycled
- Red lidded bin – This will be for recycling dry paper and card
- Blue lidded bin – This will be for recycling plastic, metals and glass
Waste will continue to be collected weekly, with red and blue recycling bins collected on alternate weeks.
Separating paper and card recycling from plastic, metal and glass before collection has been proven to improve the amount of waste that can be recycled and will put Milton Keynes ahead of expected new legislation that will require all councils to collect household recycling this way.
Inevitably there will be a small number of homes that aren’t suitable for wheelie bins, so we will be working with residents to find the best option. This could mean they continue with sacks or have a mixed collection, with sacks for recycling and a wheelie bin for other rubbish. Apartments or town houses could continue with their current arrangements or use larger communal bins.
To find out how your waste will be collected, there’s a new postcode checker. It should tell you what collection method you’ll be having within seconds, and also give you the opportunity to request a review for a different solution.
Eligibility for review will be based on specific criteria around storage space and access. For example, you can’t request a review based on your personal preference but can request a review if access is greatly restricted. We will be starting reviews in May and will keep residents updated if their collection type will change.
Those who have disabilities or medical conditions that require assisted collections can also request them through the postcode checker link. Over the next month, every household will also be receiving a letter confirming what type of collection they’ll receive.
Completely overhauling how we collect waste is no easy feat and I’d like to thank everybody for their patience while this complex rollout is completed. Switching to wheelie bins will avoid producing 11 million single-use plastic recycling sacks each year and will ultimately help us with our plans of becoming the greenest city in the world.
To find out how your waste will be collected later this year, you can use the new postcode checker.
Cllr Pete Marland
Leader, Milton Keynes City Council
