Bin collections shake-up approved by council

Bin collections in Blackpool are set for a shake-up after councillors approved changes to recycling arrangements.

The changes have been approved following new government legislation called Simpler Recycling, which calls for local authorities to simplify the way that waste is collected to reduce costs and increase recycling.

Residents will have a new separate weekly food waste collection, meaning grey bins will no longer be used for organic waste and will only be emptied every three weeks, while brown bins will replace brown recycling bags. Garden waste charges have also been cut by £15 to £30.

Simpler Recycling will be implemented in April 2026 for all councils, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Jane Hugo, cabinet member for climate change, said: "We've looked at what the government has asked us to do, and we have been speaking to residents to find out how they would like to see their service improved.

"This has led to a number of proposals which include reducing the price of the green waste service and increasing the capacity of the blue bin. Our aim is to help people waste less and recycle more.

"It is also proposed to change domestic waste to a three-weekly collection. I know this may initially be of a concern to some residents but evidence from elsewhere in the country has shown this can be implemented successfully.

"Before any changes are implemented in April 2026 we will be communicating directly with residents, to provide all the information they need."

Blackpool's waste collection service is managed and delivered by the council's company ENVECO, which serves 72,000 households.

The current collection regime dates back 20 years with the majority of residents having three wheelie bins and one brown hessian sack, emptied on alternate weeks.

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