Basildon Council Approves Return to Weekly Waste Collections Following Public Opposition

Councillors have approved a decision to reinstate weekly general waste collections, following a significant public backlash. Basildon Council in Essex had implemented fortnightly black bin collections and a new recycling system last year. A public consultation revealed that 72.3% of respondents desired a return to a weekly collection schedule. Labour leader Gavin Callaghan told the cabinet meeting: “Fixing the bins is the number one priority of the administration.” The previous Conservative administration had introduced this new waste system on 27 November last year. The change meant residents transitioned from using a pink bag for recycling to separating their waste and recyclables into six distinct categories, with refuse collected every two weeks. This change generated complaints, with concerns raised that accumulated waste posed a public health risk, and some individuals asserted that the collection sacks were more prone to being dispersed by wind. Within Essex, Brentwood Borough Council is currently the sole authority maintaining weekly refuse collections. Southend-on-Sea City Council, however, is scheduled to transition to fortnightly collections in 2025. Elsewhere in England, councils like Bristol are exploring monthly bin collections as a cost-saving measure. Aidan McGurran, who serves as the Labour cabinet member for environment and leisure, indicated that the weekly collection schedule would be reinstated in the spring. He further commented that the Tory administration “got it spectacularly wrong”. Andrew Baggott, the former Conservative leader, cautioned Labour that it would be necessary to “look at what services you might need to cut to deliver that”. Final approval for the revised bin collection schedule is pending a Basildon full council meeting in February, coinciding with the setting of the 2025-26 budget.