Hannah Winter and Sharif Hussain(Image: No credit)

Residents fuming over council plans to become one of first to collect bins once a month

by · BristolLive

Residents are fuming over council plans to become one of the first in Britain to collect bins - every four weeks. Leaked documents this week revealed that black bin collections could be reduced to once a month in Bristol.

Bristol City Council needs to make savings amid rising waste service costs - and also wants to improve recycling rates. But residents are concerned about fly tipping and stinky bins.

Hannah Winter, 51, and her partner Sharif Hussain, 59 who live in St George in Bristol said that the proposal is a "little crazy". Hannah added: "They already shrank the size of the bins and for the average family it won't work.

''We are very good at recycling and we take it to the tip. I think if a lot of people don't do the food bin it will be stinky." She stated that she doesn't understand the reason behind it - adding that the black bin collection should take place every two weeks.

"I don't understand the benefit of changing it. 'They should just reinforce the importance of food bins and the other recycling ones.

"We are a family of 3 with one child and we would struggle. I have noticed when our bins are collected they just chuck them all together.'' Hannah added that the council should encourage families to recycle.

Kelly Haskins, 45, reckons that if the plans goes ahead more rubbish will be on the street - and "people will be fly tipping". She added: "It seems bonkers. If they tried to push it to monthly it will upset a lot of people.

Black bin collections for Bristol residents could be reduced to once every four weeks(Image: No credit)

"Your council tax goes up every year and people are in a crisis - I wouldn't be happy with it. If you are a big family that's going to make a big difference - I think they will struggle.

"Educating people about recycling more would be more important. We recycle everything and some weeks every two weeks our bins are quite full and sometimes it's not that full." Martha, 31 who lives in a two-person household said that the proposed plan is "hard to imagine".

"It will be more difficult for people in a house share or in a family. You can see more fly tipping in some areas," she said. "Where would the money go and what are they are going to make better. If there's a reason for it I don't have a problem with it.

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"It will lead more to frustration. For the people who don't care and are happy fly tying. But if there's a study that shows that will let people to recycle more that would be good."

Pat Moran, 47, said that having the bins collected every four-weeks would not affect his family "a lot". "We tend to be filling the recycling a lot faster than we fill the black bins. We are trying to minimise waste and we have a long way to go.

"I think it will be the trickiest for families - I don't know if they will have another option." Grace Billingham, 35, explained how she is a mum of two and with both kids attending pre-school she produces more rubbish - with one of them still using nappies.

Mum of two Grace Billingham(Image: No credit)

She said that the purposed four-week plan is just going to make it harder for families and consequently "increase fly tipping". Adam Yas, 24 who has a baby said: "It affects if you are a family. The bin will just pile up."

The leaked council document was seen and reported on by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. It said: "Through changes in regulation and increasing operational, inflation and investment costs, our waste and recycling service is facing an additional bill of £5 million to £9 million per year.

"Without cost reductions we may need to reduce services and performance standards. This amount will be reduced if we can recycle more and waste less." Householders will be asked for their thoughts on reducing black bin days from fortnightly to every three or four weeks as part of a consultation starting tomorrow (November 18) - but this is yet to be announced.

The proposals follow a decision by South Gloucestershire Council to cut collections of non-recyclable household waste from every two to every three weeks. Bristol councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Policy Committee, said: "The council faces a significant challenge to ensure that our city wastes less and recycles and reuses more if we are to build a cleaner more sustainable Bristol.

"All options remain draft proposals at this stage and no decisions have been taken and no decision will be taken on significant changes to the future of waste and recycling services in our city without consulting with residents and engaging with businesses first."