Published on
31 July 2024
New bins delivered as waste collections about to change
Most households should now have a black wheeled rubbish bin for the new service starting on Monday, 12 August
More than 67,000 black wheeled rubbish bins have been delivered to homes across Wokingham Borough, with waste collections changing in less than two weeks.
The new service launches on Monday, 12 August, so the council has posted collection calendars to households and launched an online tool for checking what to put out each week.
Residents can check their new schedule online and are urged to put their waste out correctly to avoid a missed collection.
Everyone is keeping their usual collection day, but rubbish will be emptied from the new wheeled bins every two weeks instead of the weekly blue rubbish bag collections. Recycling will also be collected fortnightly from the existing green bags, on the weeks when rubbish isn't collected.
Food waste collections are staying weekly, so the food waste bin should be put out for collection every week. Food waste bins and green recycling bags can be collected free of charge from hubs around the borough and there’s no limit on how many can be put out.
Working together to reach everyone
The council would again like to thank Jett Distribution for their support in delivering up to 1,000 bins to doorsteps every day, with crews working fast to assemble and drop off bins in all weathers.
This week, Jett’s crews are still out completing a small number of missed deliveries. Anyone who has already reported this doesn’t need to do so again, but residents can get in touch if they haven't.
A simple guide to the new collections
About half of households will have their rubbish collected in the week beginning 12 August, with recycling collected the week afterwards. The other half will start the new service with a recycling collection week, followed by rubbish the week afterwards.
The council’s calendar leaflet lists all collection weeks to the end of July 2025 and should be kept somewhere safe, like on the fridge, to keep track of what to put out. It also clearly explains how to put waste out correctly with photographs.
Once the service changes, the council will only collect one full rubbish bin per fortnight, with the lid fully closed and no additional waste beside it.
If a bin is overfilled, it won't be emptied. However, it should be easy to avoid this by recycling everything possible – especially food waste, which is the biggest area for improvement in Wokingham Borough.
Residents must leave their waste at the boundary of their property, not halfway up a path or drive. It should also be easily accessible and not blocked by things like walls or fences, and must not be left blocking the pavement or causing a trip hazard.
Finally, all waste should be put out the night before as collections may take place earlier in the morning than now. Residents are also encouraged to label their bins with their house number, or decorate it however they like, to make it easier to identify.
Thank you for getting behind us
Cllr Jordan Montgomery, executive member for environment and climate emergency, said: "These long-awaited changes will help us to recycle more – which supports our aim of becoming one of the top local authorities in the country for recycling and being carbon neutral by 2030.
“They’re also part of our efforts to make much-needed savings, as we’re facing enormous financial challenges and must ensure we protect the vital services that keep all our residents safe and healthy.
"We're committed to keeping you up to speed, so please keep hold of your leaflet and don’t forget that the information it contains is now also available online.
“Remember - we need your help to make these changes a success. We already have one of the nation’s highest recycling rates, which is fantastic, but we know there’s scope to do even better and we’d love to achieve that.
“I'd also like to say a big thank-you to all residents for their support over many months – and please keep passing on our updates to anyone you know who might find them useful.”
Getting ready for a greener future
If households recycle all they can, the only things that should go in the rubbish are bagged pet and animal waste, general dust and dirt, black plastic food waste trays, polystyrene, disposable nappies and sanitary waste.
Plastic film, bags and wrapping can go in the rubbish, but some supermarkets will recycle it. For help recycling everything else, residents can use Recycle Now's free Recycling Locator tool or get some tips on the council's own website.
By doing this, residents shouldn’t have any problems with space in their 180-litre rubbish bins. Most households should only need four green bags per fortnight, or fewer, if they wash and squash things like plastic bottles, drinks cans and cardboard packaging to take up less space.
Residents can’t use their new rubbish bin before 12 August, so they should use their remaining blue bags until then. Once the service changes, any leftover blue bags can be used as bin liners and put inside the black bin when they’re full.
A small number of households with no space for a wheeled bin have been contacted to tell them that they’re staying on weekly bagged rubbish collections.
