Bristol Council drops plans for four-weekly residual waste collections

Bristol City Council has opted to rule out plans to reduce black bin collections to once every four weeks, following opposition from residents.

At a full council meeting yesterday (11 March), elected members considered a petition with over 11,000 signatures (including 10,600 from Bristol residents) opposing the move to monthly black bin collections. The ‘Say no to monthly bin collections in Bristol’ petition, organised by Labour Councillor Tom Renhard, sought to maintain the current bi-weekly collection schedule and explore alternative ways to improve recycling rates.

The Council had included options for three or four-weekly collections in its waste consultation, which closed on 10 March. However, Council officials have now confirmed that the four-weekly option will not be pursued.

Councillor Martin Fodor, chair of the environment committee, said: "The four-weekly option was put in the consultation as an outlier for modelling purposes and I made clear it was always unlikely to go ahead. Based on what we've heard and the strength of feeling that this has generated across the city, the Greens will not be supporting any proposals put forward to move to four-weekly collections at this time."

Renhard, who leads the Labour group in the council, explained his criticism of the proposal: "It has been clear from the start that this policy is totally unworkable. The Greens dropping it will be a relief to all, particularly those with larger families or newborns, who need fortnightly black bin collections."

He added: "Waste and recycling collection is the one service that every council tax payer uses and relies upon; it needs to be protected from their cuts."

The opposition pointed out that despite additional funding for waste services for 2025/26, the administration agreed at its annual budget meeting to cut £500,000 a year by making changes to “non-recyclable waste collection.”

The Full Council endorsed a series of alternative approaches to improve waste management in the city, including investing in more enforcement cameras to deter fly-tipping in known hotspots and providing local community groups with an annual skip for non-recyclable waste disposal.

The Labour motion to the council argued that "improving recycling rates needs to happen without 'putting the cart before the horse'." Alternative solutions suggested included soft plastic recycling, exploring mixed recycling, nappy recycling, and larger recycling bins.

When questioned about the consultation options, council officials defended the approach, stating: "Three and four weekly collections have been proven at other local authorities as the most effective change."

The results of the public consultation will be presented to a cross-party group of councillors who will decide on any future changes to waste collection services at a later date.