Get ready!

Stratford-on-Avon District Council's refuse & recycling service is changing - from Monday 4 August the new service is a wheeled bin collection which will now include cardboard, plastic bottles and a weekly collection of general waste.  

"Despite some of the uncertainties surrounding the new arrangements and the complicated negotiations between Warwickshire County Council and the District Council the changes made to the collections have been implemented in a way that best reflects the needs of the people of Stratford District and the environment," says Councillor Simon Jackson, Environment Portfolio Holder.  

"Let's not forget the new service will fulfill residents' requests to have a weekly collection of food waste and desire to recycle more such as plastic bottles and cardboard, which are now included. This means that there will be less waste sent to landfill reducing the prospect of a Landfill Tax being passed on to residents and our recycling rate will improve, enhancing our commitment to the environment.  This new contract will also bring about savings of £400,000 each year and the elimination of black plastic sacks alone will save £100,000 each year.  

"The bin delivery programme has been a huge logistical exercise carried out to 90% of the District and it is only a supply chain problem that has halted the delivery of bins to the remaining households.  The District Council is definitely not operating a 'one size fits all' approach and smaller bins will be available to residents on request; assisted collections are still in place and appropriate measures for flats and terraced properties have been implemented.  And another plus of the new service is that Bank Holidays will no longer affect collections, except over the Christmas and New Year holiday.  

"Residents should remember they will still have the same amount of waste that they have always had; we are not asking them to generate more waste, just to put it in different containers.  With the support of residents this new and improved service, being carried out by Verdant, aims to decrease the District's waste, increase recycling and provide better value for money."  

From August:

• the Grey Bin of general and food waste will be collected every week;
• recyclable materials in the Blue Lid Bin will be collected every other week and now include cardboard, cartons (such as Tetra Pak) and plastic bottles and
• the Green Bin for green garden waste will be collected every other week until November when the collection will be suspended during this winter only.  When reintroduced next April there will be no further suspensions, so it will return to a year round service.  From August a maximum of two green bins will be collected from each property.  

Officers have been out and about at a variety of community events in Stratford District from May through to August with the 'Are you ready?' roadshow telling people about the changes to the service and giving out explanation leaflets.   

There is also a 4-page pullout in the current issue of the District Council's magazine Your Review, out now, that is a complete guide to the new service as well as a refuse and recycling leaflet and the new collection calendar.  

For further information or help sorting out your new collection day please contact the District Council's refuse and recycling information line on 01789 260925 or visit the website on www.stratford.gov.uk/bins

If residents want to register for smaller bins please call the District Council on 01789 260925.

Assisted collections will still apply to those that have registered.  If you are elderly (over 75), infirm or disabled and would like to receive an assisted collection please call the District Council on 01789 260925.

Backlogs of Bank Holiday rubbish will be a thing of the past for the District as waste collections will take place across the District on all Bank Holidays apart from Christmas Day and New Years Day.

If you haven't received the new bins, black sacks will be collected in place of the grey bin and residents can participate in the new recycling scheme, using their current black boxes to recycle plastic bottles, cardboard and cartons instead of the blue lid bins.  All residents that have not received their bins before the start of the contract have been contacted directly.

Recycling - plastic bottle lids may be kept on and plastic bottles maybe crushed if more room is needed in the bin to accommodate any additional recycling material.