In an effort to reduce its reliance on single-use plastic, Bedford Borough Council has confirmed it will no longer provide orange sacks to households that have an orange bin.
In addition, this year the Council will not be printing bin collection calendars that traditionally have been hooked on residents’ wheelie bins at the end of the year to remind them of the coming year’s bin days.
A Borough Council spokesperson said: “The Council will still provide orange sacks where a household does not have nor can accommodate an orange bin for their recycling.
“However, as part of our efforts to drive down single use plastic waste, we are not providing supplies of orange sacks to households that do have one of these orange wheeled recycling bins already.
“These sacks are single use and we want to reduce our reliance on single use plastics.”
So as not to penalise those who recycle more than their bin can accommodate, council refuse collectors will pick up extra recycling as long as it is put next to the orange bin in a secure container, such as a clear plastic sack or cardboard box.
Any recycling put out in black bin bags will not be collected.
“In recognition of the fact that some people may produce more recycling than will fit in their bin- particularly with more people working from home at the moment- our message is please compact your recycling: crush, squish, stomp on, tear up and make smaller anything you can to fit more into your recycling bin. The more space you save, the more recycling you can fit in.”
Alongside this change to help drive down waste, the Council is directing residents to its website to check their 2021 bin collection days.
“Our online collection day finder which enables people to search for their postcode and download their bin collection calendar is well-used by local residents at all times of the year,” said a Council spokesperson.
“For those who cannot access the calendar online, there are a limited number of print-outs available. People can contact us via phone at 01234 718060 and the team will be able to assist.”
