Important update regarding resumption of brown bin collections and bulky waste collections

Following the announcement of the phased reopening of Leeds’ Household Waste and Recycling Centres starting next week, brown bin and bulky waste collections are also set to resume later this month across the city, Leeds City Council has announced today. 

The council has set out plans to restart brown bin collections from Monday, May 25. This will be two months since the current “lockdown” was announced by government and at which point the service was suspended. By suspending this lower-priority service, the council has been able to successfully focus reduced staffing levels on continuing to deliver a reliable and safe black and green bin collection service for the city; emptying over 3.2 million bins and managing up to 20% extra household waste.  Although there remain significant council wide challenges and staff absences to manage due to the continued impact of Covid19, the council is now in a position to plan the restart of and extend brown bin collections for the end of the month, whilst maintaining the level of black and green bin collections. As part of proposals, brown bin collections will be expanded to include new and known, planned housing developments that are eligible for a brown bin and who may not as yet have received a service. All households with a brown bin collection will be sent a letter a few days beforehand, informing them of their first brown bin collection day. Many brown bin collection days will change, and residents are asked to please keep an eye on their post for the letter and also the council website and associated social media channels. Residents are also encouraged to download the handy Leeds Bin mobile phone app where updates will be provided.

The council has also outlined proposals to restart its bulky waste collection service during the week commencing May 18^th. With many households still requiring to self-isolate and shield relatives, the council has taken the decision to offer this service free of charge whilst these restrictions are in place. Whilst the council will endeavour to offer as many booking slots as is possible in the context of existing resources, this service will be limited, and residents are asked if feasible, to store any waste and continue their efforts to reduce and reuse.

This announcement follows an update provided by the council earlier this week regarding the intention to begin the phased, safe reopening of Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) next week for pre-booked appointments only. For more details, please see: https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/update-regarding-potential-reopening-of-leeds-household-waste-and-recycling-centres

To further support recycling efforts in the city, the council is working in partnership with local recycling company Great Green Systems to offer an exclusive 35% discount to residents on UK manufactured garden and food composting bins. To find out more, please visit the council’s composting advice page at: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/bins-and-recycling/composting

The council would like to thank the people of Leeds for their patience and understanding during this extremely challenging time and for the continued fantastic support for all council services, including that provided to our refuse crews.

Further updates regarding these environmental services will be provided on www.leeds.gov.uk and through social media channels including on Twitter @LCCNews and Facebook at: Leeds City Council. Excellent advice and tips on how to reduce and recycle waste continues to be provided by Zero Waste Leeds through their website at: https://www.zerowasteleeds.org.uk/ and social media accounts.

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“It is extremely positive news that we are now able to announce that both brown bin and bulky waste collections will recommence later this month. This is testament to the tremendous hard work of those staff across our environmental teams, who despite continued pressures due to coronavirus, have showed great commitment to make sure these services are able to restart. I’d also like to offer a thank you to the unions for their constructive challenge and support which has been an important factor in making sure we can maintain an excellent, safely operated refuse service and can now move forward with plans to reopen and restart other suspended services.”

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and active lifestyles, said:

“Whilst we are of course very pleased to offer these collections once again and begin the process of opening our Household Waste and Recycling Centres next week, we must also recognise that there will be restrictions in some areas to the service that we are able to offer at this current time. I would like to thank residents for their continued support and patience as we take every step possible to ensure that our services continue to be delivered safely.”