Leeds City Council has announced that from 29 April, it will switch from weekly to alternate weekly collections (AWC) of waste and from monthy to fortnightly collections for recycling, as part of its ‘commitment to increase recycling’.

From 29 April, around 50,000 residents in Kippax, Methley, Garforth, Swillington, Morley, East Ardsley and Robin Hood will see their co-mingled green recycling bins collected one week, with their residual waste bins collected the next.

The service will be rolled out ‘to the majority of the city’ in the longer term.

The new service will run as follows:

• Week one: Collections of paper, card, cans, aerosols and plastic from green bins or bags
• Week two:Collection of general waste from black bins or bags
• Fortnightly:Collection of garden waste from brown bins (March to November)

The council states that Rothwell residents will continue to receive their normal service, with food waste collections being extended to a further 3,500 homes in the area.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Southampton, AWC can increase recycling rates by up to nine per cent and reduce collection costs.

Changes to help council reach 55 per cent recycling rate by 2016

Last year Leeds city council signed up to the Household Waste Collection Commitment, a scheme run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Local Government Association (LGA) requiring local authorities to be more transparent and consistent with the recycling and waste collection services they provide. It also explains to residents what the council expects of them in terms of promptly and correctly leaving out their items for collection.

Speaking at the time, Councillor Mark Dobson, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “We've known for years that we shouldn’t be burying waste. The annual landfill tax bill is set to increase by £1.5 million a year, so the war on waste is one we can ill afford to lose financially or environmentally, and needs the ongoing partnership between the public and the council.”

The increasing landfill tax is one reason why the council has decided to change its waste collection scheme after landfilling black bag waste cost it £9.2 million last year. A statement on the council website said that the money saved from diverting waste from landfill could be spent on improving services for local residents.

Further, it hoped the change will see the council reach its self-imposed target of recycling 55 per cent of waste by 2016. Last year, the council recycled 48 per cent of its household rubbish.

In an attempt to allay residents’ concerns over less frequent black bin collections, the council states that the increased recycling collections mean that if residents ‘use [their] green and black bin correctly most households [will] find they have enough room in their black bin for it to be collected fortnightly’.

The changes form part of an overhaul of Leeds’ waste management, after two waste incinerators were granted planning permission in February this year.

Explaining the changes

In order to ensure local residents are well informed of the changes, the council is holding a series of ‘community road shows’ where staff will be available to answer residents’ questions about the new service.

The staff will also go door-to-door to offer advice as the service is commenced.

Speaking of the changes, Councillor Dobson said: “Without a big change in how often we collect waste we won’t be able to harness the environmental and financial benefits of recycling. We’re looking to build on the success that other authorities have seen once this type of service has been introduced.

“We also know that people need time to get used to the upcoming changes. So, recycling advisers are here to help people get the most out of the more frequent service.

“We’d like people to join us at the events and ask us any questions they have to help the transition to alternate weekly bin collections go as smoothly as possible.”

The first community road show will be held at Garforth One Stop and Library on 17 April 2013 from 9.30am to 3.00pm. It will then be held at Rothwell One Stop Centre on 18 April from 9.30am to 4.00pm and Morley Town Hall on 19 April from 9.30am to 4.30pm.

Read more about the changes to Leeds’s collection services.