People had been frustrated with waste blowing out of the old boxes
Bristol Waste is replacing plastic boxes for cans and bottle recycling with red bags(Image: Bristol Waste)
A major change to the way people in the city do their recycling kicks off this week – with new large red bags set to become a familiar sight in every street.
From this week, residents will be finding their green boxes for plastic and can recycling will be swapped for a large red bag, similar to the new large blue ones that people have begun to use for cardboard and paper.
The change, by Bristol Waste, is being brought in because the brittle green boxes blow around in the wind and get damaged too easily – and the red bags are bigger.
The logistics of the changeover mean it won’t happen overnight. Bristol Waste says it will take until November before everyone’s boxes are changed for bags, and they will do all 175,000 homes they collect from street by street, a week at a time.
Residents of each street will get a letter when it’s their turn, and people are being urged to put out their green recycling boxes as usual, even if they are empty.
Bristol Waste is replacing plastic boxes for cans and bottle recycling with red bags(Image: Bristol Waste)
“Homes on kerbside recycling collections will receive a new red bag for plastic and cans, which is 60% bigger than the old brittle green boxes, and a new blue bag for card, cartons and paper,” said a Bristol Waste spokesperson.
“The new bags will also be sealable, reducing litter, and easier to store between collections. Households with missing or damaged brown food bins will have new ones, and black boxes that are more durable won’t change.
“Residents will receive letters asking them to put out their containers on their usual bin day, ready for the swap. The delivery teams will work with Bristol Waste recycling crews to replace the old containers which will be emptied. Residents are being urged to put out all their containers – even if they’re empty,” she added.
Bristol recycles more than any other large city in the UK, but Bristol Waste reckons it could be a lot higher, and is encouraging people not to put so much waste in their black wheelie bins.
“Let’s recycle more, for Bristol,” said Sarah Burns, from Bristol Waste.
“We know from our research that over 50 per cent of the average Bristol black wheelie bin is recyclable materials, and the things we see most commonly are actually really easy to recycle — like squashed plastic bottles and rinsed yoghurt pots.
Bristol Waste is replacing plastic boxes for cans and bottle recycling with red bags(Image: Bristol Waste)
“Recyclable food waste makes up 26 per cent of the average black wheelie bin. By taking an extra moment to put plate scrapings or out-of-date food into our brown food waste bins, we’re doing our bit for the city.
“Recycling reduces demand on finite natural resources and lowers carbon emissions, while also saving money for council taxpayers so it can be spent on other vital services,” she added.
Bristol Waste is a private company owned by Bristol City Council ’s taxpayers – and the person the people of Bristol put in charge of waste and the environment, is Cllr Abi Finch, the chair of the sustainability committee.
“It’s brilliant to see these new, improved recycling containers being rolled out,” she said. “I’ve heard from many people who are frustrated with recycling blowing out of boxes and littering our streets, and with having to pay for replacements when the brittle green boxes break.
Bristol Waste is replacing plastic boxes for cans and bottle recycling with red bags(Image: Bristol Waste)
“These new containers have been carefully chosen to resolve these issues after listening to people’s concerns.
“We all know recycling is better for the planet, but you may not know it also saves the council money. In short, we can’t afford not to! Bristol Waste is making changes to make it easier for everyone to recycle, so now it’s up to all of us to keep food waste and recyclables out of our black bins,” she added.