Derbyshire Dales council announces changes to bin collection days coming soon

Serco will be altering its waste collection days across the Derbyshire Dales from September. (Photo: Serco/Derbyshire Dales District Council)

The council’s and its service provider Serco have developed a plan for new collection rounds which should reduce the distances bin trucks travel and better accommodate new homes in the district.

A council spokesperson said: "The big message to residents is please don't contact us about this yet. The changes will affect 90 per cent of households across the district and all homes will receive a leaflet through the post week commencing September 4 , explaining in detail how the changes could affect them.

“The day changes will be introduced from Monday, September 18, and it's important that residents put out their bins by 7am on their new collection day as collection times could change too.”

They added: “We want to stress however there is no change to the frequency of collections. Bins will continue to be collected on an alternating weekly basis, while food waste will continue to be collected weekly.

“Residents who subscribe to our garden waste collections will still have their green-lid bin collected on the same day as their recycling.”

Waste collection has been a tricky subject for the council and Serco in recent years, with the previous administration paying huge sums of money over and above the original contract to get the service back on track after a meltdown in summer 2021, eventually prompting an official investigation which found Serco had committed 69 breaches of contract.

Budget papers released earlier this year showed that inflation fees on the £3.1million a year contract had seen costs rise by £544,000, or 18 per cent, while a the council also faced an extra £695,000 cost due to the closure of its organic waste recycling partner.

The council and Serco say the changes to collection routes are necessary to ensure the smooth-running of the service both now and in the future.

Jason Hazelwood, Serco’s contract manager said: “I would like to thank my team for all their help with reviewing the new collection schedules and providing their input and feedback.

Residents wondering how they may be affected can find the answers to some expected questions at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/wastechanges-faqs.

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