Date issued: 31 July 2020
The temporary measures allowing residents across the borough to put out an additional 60-litre black bag with their waste and recycling is to be removed from collections starting week beginning 17 August.
To help residents to dispose of their rubbish during lockdown, Colchester Borough Council relaxed its usual three black bags per household limit to allow people to put out up to four bags.
However, with the restrictions easing, the council is reintroducing its limit of three black bags per household from week beginning 17 August.
Between April, when the additional black bag allowance was introduced, and July an estimated 9,346 tonnes of refuse in black bags has been collected – around 26 per cent more than during the same four months last year.
The reintroduction of the pre Covid-19 limits are to help encourage residents to recycle more of their waste and reduce the pressure on the council’s waste and recycling crews.
Councillor Martin Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, said: “These have been exceptional times and providing the additional ability for residents to put out an extra black bag with their collections has helped people during this period as we all had limited opportunity to leave our homes.
“However, I feel now is the right time to return to the normal limits we have for the numbers of black bags people can put out – especially as lockdown and shielding restrictions are being eased and the civic amenity sites have reopened.
“This will not only encourage people to return to their recycling good habits but protect our crews from potential injuries from the increasing number of tonnes they are collecting daily.
“I would like to pay tribute to all of our crews who have gone above and beyond during this time. I would also like to thank our residents for their patience as we sought to maintain this key service while also protecting our staff.”
Residents wanting more information on our waste and recycling services or to check when their collections are can visit www.colchester.gov.uk/recycling
Page last reviewed: 30 July 2020