Sweeping Changes To Bin Collections

New bin collection days for over 130,000 households across Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire will take effect from Monday 27 February.

New bin collection days for over 130,000 households across Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire will take effect from Monday 27 February.

The shared waste collection service for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire, which already shares a single management structure and workforce, has streamlined its rounds to work across the boundary to make collections more efficient and to achieve savings on fuel.

The new rounds will reduce the waste teams travel by up to 20,000 miles each year, cutting traffic and emissions, and contributing £150k to a £700k efficiency savings target over three years.

For most households, this will mean a change to their bin collection day, to the sequence in which their black or blue and green bins are collected, or to the time of their collection. In some cases, during the change, a small number of households may experience a longer gap between collections.

All 165,000 households across Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire are currently being sent a new collection calendar and leaflet detailing how the changes will affect them. Information has also been made available on the council websites at www.scambs.gov.uk/bin-changes and www.cambridge.gov.uk/bin-changes

Cllr Mark Howell, South Cambridgeshire District Council cabinet member with responsibility for waste, said: “I’m pleased to see the new collection days being rolled out. It’s a change but a good one to streamline operations and manage the growing demand on the waste service, enabling the sharing of our services to bring real benefits.”

Cllr Peter Roberts, Cambridge City’s Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre, said: “The changes are part of our plan to make common sense savings and manage the growth in the area while maintaining a high level of service for residents.”

Interim Head of Waste Resources, Jane Hunt, said: “All residents will be receiving new collection calendars and leaflets explaining the changes over the next fortnight and I would urge you to read through the information carefully.

“The rounds are new to the 98 members of our refuse crew too and I would ask that you please bear with them during this period of change.”