Colchester bin collection revamp may mean residents require three bins

Households across Colchester could all be required to use two separate wheelie bins to dispose of rubbish and recycling as part of a major overhaul of the city’s waste collection system.

The new strategy, which will go through a public consultation before a planned roll-out in 2026, would do away with the current set-up which requires residents to dispose of rubbish in black bags and recycling in clear bags.

Residents would instead be required to use one wheelie bin for black bags, one wheelie bin for paper, card, and recyclable plastics, a plastic box for glass, and a food waste bin.

Some residents may require a third wheelie bin if they have signed up for garden waste collections, which Colchester Council started charging households for last year.

Controversial – the introduction of paid for garden waste collections was unpopular, but Colchester Council insisted it was necessary (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Colchester Council's waste boss Martin Goss said: "We are facing significant financial pressure, and to help counteract these pressures, we must alter the way we do things and improve the way we manage waste.

"This means that we need to consider a new service and introduce a simpler way for residents to manage their materials in wheeled bins and recycling boxes.

“The proposed approach will see a simpler way for residents to manage their materials. Glass will continue to be collected in a green box, food waste in a caddy and all other recycling material placed in one wheeled bin and non-recyclable waste in a black wheeled bin.

"The council will also collect more types of recycling and will help residents to reduce, reuse and recycle more. We will look carefully at the feedback we collect, but simplification is essential if we are to raise recycling rates, meet government policy requirements and reduce our costs by £1m a year. 

“We want to work with residents to build the draft Recycling and Waste Strategy into a finished plan, which is why it’s essential for you to have your say. With your help, Colchester can continue being one of the leaders and pioneers in recycling and waste management, making the city a better place to live, visit and do business in.”

Staff – the new scheme would reduce the number of injuries suffered by bin workers (Image: Press Association)

Draft papers for the recycling and waste strategy, as Colchester Council has termed it, suggest the plans would be cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and reduce the number of staff absences caused by having to pick bags off the street and load them into lorries.

The overhaul comes as part of what could potentially be a national change in how people dispose of their rubbish after the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) agreed last year mixed recycling could all be placed in the same bin.

If such plans come to fruition in 2026, executives at Colchester Council estimate the authority could save as much as £1million per year.

The official papers also state Colchester Council reduced its carbon emissions by 40 per percent during the 12-year period from 2008 to 2020, with ambitions for the authority to become carbon neutral by 2030.

By 2042, it is hoped that residents will not produce more than 110kg of black bin waste per year.

One section of the document dedicated to the financial implications of rubbish collection reads: “The scale of the financial challenge councils face is huge.

“The cost-of-living crisis, alongside the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and rising energy costs have placed significant pressure on our budgets and we simply cannot continue to operate as we are.”

It continued: “The council has a target to reduce our overall operating costs by 25 per cent over the next three years.”