{"id":577727,"date":"2026-05-11T08:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/577727\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T08:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:36:13","slug":"the-6-changes-after-new-bin-rules-in-england-including-21-day-rule-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/577727\/","title":{"rendered":"The 6 changes after new bin rules in England – including ’21 day rule’ | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bin collections have been standardised across England, so all councils must follow the same rules. The Government hopes this will simplify recycling, end the ‘postcode lottery’<\/a> with handy bin collections, and reduce the amount of contaminated recycling, so that less waste goes to landfill.<\/p>\n

Introduced on March 31, the Government<\/a> has laid out new collection frequencies and specified which waste streams councils will be required to collect. The changes are designed to create a more consistent system across England, after years of differences between local authorities on what could and could not be recycled.<\/p>\n

1. All councils must collect the following waste separatelyFood and garden wastePaper and cardAll other dry recyclable materials (glass, metal and plastic, including cartons)Residual waste (non-recyclable waste that is sent for energy recovery or to landfill)<\/p>\n

Paper and card can be collected with other dry recyclable materials in certain circumstances, which the Government said will allow local authorities<\/a> to deliver services\u202fthat work best for their communities.<\/p>\n

2. Weekly food waste collections<\/p>\n

Two bins will be provided to every household for food waste \u2013 a small bin suitable for the kitchen, often called a caddy, and a larger bin for outside for collection. This is the only waste bin for which the government has imposed a strict weekly schedule.<\/p>\n

3. Plastic film collections next year<\/p>\n

Starting March 31, 2027, plastic film packaging and plastic bags must be collected for plastic recycling.<\/p>\n

5. No standardised frequency for dry recyclable collections<\/p>\n

The Government said councils can choose the most appropriate collection frequency and methodology for the dry recyclable waste streams to meet the needs of their local communities.<\/p>\n

6. Black bin collections<\/p>\n

Some councils have confirmed that collections will be less frequent in response to the changes, with the food waste bin the only one with a mandated weekly collection. In some areas, such as Mid Suffolk and Lancaster and Morecambe, there is now a new rule where every refuse bin will be emptied every three weeks (21 days) rather than fortnightly. The collection frequency varies across local authorities.<\/p>\n

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said the changes will help meet the ambition to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035, and deliver greenhouse gas emissions savings equivalent to \u00a311.8 billion.<\/p>\n

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh at DEFRA said it would end the “postcode lottery” and make it easier for people to recycle.<\/p>\n

“Simplifying these rules will cut out carbon<\/a>, clean up our streets, and help bring pride back into our communities. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with local areas\u202fto deliver these changes and ensure there\u2019s more recycled content in the products we buy.”<\/p>\n

Government hopes that more high-quality recycled material will be able to be processed domestically and used by manufacturers to make new products, supporting the shift to a more circular economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bin collections have been standardised across England, so all councils must follow the same rules. The Government hopes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[37911,197614,7953,67138,1397,136100,90,197615,197613,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-577727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-bin-collection","tag-bin-collection-changes","tag-circular-economy","tag-defra","tag-environment","tag-recycling-rules","tag-science","tag-simpler-recycling-rules","tag-standardised-bin-collections","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}