Waste and recycling changes due to snow and ice

South Gloucestershire Council have announced the following:

Collections 

We are sorry that waste and recycling collections will not be taking place on Friday 2 March due to snow and ice, this is protect the safety of residents and staff. Please take your bins and recycling containers back on to your property until your next normal collection.  For  Recycling the next collection is Friday 9 March, please present any extra recycling. Residual and Garden bins will be collected Friday 16 March. If you have extra non-recyclable waste we will collect up to two bags left next to your black bin on Friday 16 March. 

Sites Closed 

We are sorry but due to the snow and ice we have had to shut all four Sort It Recycling Centres in South Gloucestershire. The sites will be shut from 2pm on Thursday 1 March until 8.30am Sunday 4 March.  This is to protect the safety of residents and staff and to clear the sites of snow and ice before opening on Sunday.

Don't forget you can find out more about how the weather is affecting all the council's services on their website and school closures are listed here.

Confusion over recycling rules

The new weekly recycling system was supposed to make it easier for people to recycle their waste but for some residents that hasn't been the case.

Having been contacted by local people confused by the recycling instructions on the bin hangers, Claire Young questioned the relevant council Cabinet Member at last week's council meeting.

The bin hanger says that items of the same kind should be grouped together in boxes. What some people weren't clear about was the fact that if you only have a small amount of recycling, you can put it all in one box. You just need to group similar items together within it.

Unfortunately it appears the collection crews aren't clear either. One crew refused to collect recycling presented in a single box and left new recycling bags with flyers insisting residents must use those.

This is absolutely not the case. You don't need to use bags at all, you can put all your recycling in one, two or more green boxes. Just make sure that you group similar items together to make it easier for the crews to sort.

You can find more detailed advice here. If you think your recycling has been rejected when it was presented correctly, you can report a missed collection here. If you need to speak to someone you can call 01454 868000. Do let your Focus Team know if you are having ongoing problems.

Roll out of smaller black bins starts

Back in July 2016, we reported that the Conservative council would be cutting the black bin sizes from 240 litres to 140 litres. The roll out of the new smaller bins starts next Monday and will take around three months to complete.

 This is what will happen on the day yours changes:

• Your black bin will be emptied into the usual lorry.
• A crew following behind will remove the wheels and stack the old bins at the roadside in groups of ten. The stacks will be placed on their sides without blocking pavements, driveways or footpaths. 
• Later the same day, another vehicle will remove the old bins - most parts of the bin will be recycled. 
• Another crew will follow the round in the other direction, delivering new bins, so depending on where you are in the round you may get your new bin delivered before the old one is taken away.

Throughout this process your collection day will stay the same. You can find out more about recycling on the South Glos website. If you can't find the help you need online, call 01454 868000.

Weekly recycling starts next week

Don't forget that from the week beginning 19th June 2017 your recycling will be collected every week. You can find out more at www.southglos.gov.uk/wastestrategy

Find out more on recycling service changes

In the summer, South Glos Council will be launching a simplified recycling service, with weekly collections for paper, cardboard, plastics, cans, cartons and glass, alongside the existing weekly food waste collections. You will be able to put all recycling out every week.

You will still need to sort your recycling for collection but can choose to use green boxes instead of bags for plastics and cardboard or stick with your existing bags. You will be able to get extra green boxes if you need them.

Once the new service is up and running, your black bin will be replaced with a smaller one, which will still be collected fortnightly. If you have extra needs, you may be able to get extra capacity.

You can find out more about the changes online and there are also roadshows across South Gloucestershire. In and around our area these include:

Tuesday 11th April, 3:30pm - 4pm,  Bradley Stoke - Leisure Centre
Wednesday 19th April,  2:30pm - 4pm,  Thornbury - Leisure Centre
Thursday 20th April.4pm - 5:30pm,  Yate - Leisure Centre
Tuesday 25th April, 10am - 2pm,  Sainsburys - Downend
Tuesday 10th May 10am - 2pm,  Winterbourne High street
Saturday 20th May, 10am - 6pm, Waitrose - Chipping Sodbury
Tuesday 6th June, 9:30am - 4:30pm, Yate Shopping Centre
Wednesday 14th June, 9am - 4pm, Willowbrook Centre - Bradley Stoke
Tuesday 20th June, 12pm - 4pm, Charfield Village Hall
Tuesday 27th June, 10am - 6pm, Waitrose - Chipping Sodbury 
Wednesday 12th July, 10am - 3:30pm,  Sainsburys - Downend
Thursday 20th July, 10am - 2pm Winterbourne High street

Mangotsfield recycling centre to close for improvement works

From 1 February, the transfer station and recycling yard attached to the Mangotsfield Sort It recycling centre will be undergoing improvement works. These will prepare the site for the weekly recycling collections starting in June and improve traffic flow in and around the site.

The centre will have to close to the public from 1 February to 31 May for this work to be carried out. The three other Sort It recycling centres in South Gloucestershire will be open as usual, 8.30am – 4.30pm seven days a week:

• Thornbury - Short Way, BS35 3UT 
• Yate - Collett Way, BS37 5NL 
• Little Stoke - Station Road, BS34 6HP 

You can check what can be accepted at each site and make sure your vehicle is registered at www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitreg

Black bin size cut

On Wednesday, the Conservatives and Labour voted to go ahead with the new waste strategy.

Your Focus Team welcomed the weekly recycling collections and the flexibility that residents will be given to choose boxes or bags for keeping their recycling in. When the draft strategy proposed switching everyone to boxes we raised concerns about people who have limited space and local people made the same point in the consultation. We also welcomed the reintroduction of a reusable nappy incentive scheme, which we hope will help more parents switch from disposable nappies.

The strategy also includes replacing the current 240 litre black bins with 140 litre ones, despite other local authorities having opted for 180 litres. North Somerset for example has managed to achieve a better recycling rate with 180 litre black bins. We are worried that 140 litres may be a step too far.

We are also very concerned about the new disposable nappy service, that will mean parents who can't fit used nappies in their new smaller bin will have to leave them in special bags out on the street. We are worried that animals will be able to get in, the smell will get out and if the waste teams find they contain anything other than nappies they will refuse to take them, leaving them for the following fortnight's collection.

We proposed an amendment that instead of creating a new service, with all the costs of providing the bags, would have let families with small children keep their 240 litre bins until their children were 3 years old. This would have been simpler for residents and the waste crews and would have meant used nappies were still in a solid bin. Unfortunately this was voted down. We hope that having heard our concerns council officials will keep a close eye on how this service works in practice.

Register to use Sort It Centres

You now need to register if you want to use the Sort It recycling centres. This has been introduced to cut the number of commercial users and those from outside South Glos using the sites.

You don't need to sign up straight away, but must do so at least 24 hours before your next visit. You can sign up at any time of year and you only need to do it once, unless you change your address or vehicle. You can register online, by calling 01454 868000 or at the One Stop Shops.

There are two types of registration:

• Standard vehicle registration for vehicles of any size (up to 3.5 tonnes) that have rear and/or side facing windows including cars of any size, campervans, people carriers etc.
• Restricted vehicle registration for:
• vans of any size without rear facing windows including minibuses, campervans and cars
• 4×4s, pick-up trucks or people carriers (MPV) without rear seats and/or windows or with an open back
• flatbed vehicles, box vans, horse boxes with integrated cab and agricultural vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

Restricted vehicles are limited to 12 visits a year. Access times for large vehicles will continue to apply. The height and trailer restrictions at Little Stoke Sort It Recycling Centre will also remain in place.

For information about what can be accepted at the Sort It centres, where to find them and opening times visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit

Happy New Year

Your Focus team would like to wish you a happy new year.

If you've mislaid the tag telling you when your bin will be collected in the next couple of weeks, you can find the information here. You can also get more information on how to recycle your Christmas tree.

Another recycling option

You may not be aware that you can recycle clean plastic bags, wrapping and film at the Sort it Centres. Of course since the introduction of the charge for carrier bags many people are reusing those, but this is one way to cut back on the amount of packaging going into your black bin.

Have your say on waste - but Tories vote against consulting on free green bin option

Conservative South Glos Council is consulting on changes to your waste service including:

• Replacing the existing black bins with smaller ones
• Replacing the recycling bags with additional boxes
• Introducing weekly recycling collections
• Changing the rules for additional black bin space
• Stopping collecting engine oil, household and car batteries at the kerbside.

You can find out more and comment here. You can also attend the Westerleigh Parish Council meeting at 7.15pm on Monday 16th November in the Manor Hall, Coalpit Heath when the South Glos Waste Manager will be giving a presentation.

Astonishingly, the consultation makes no mention of doing away with the green bin charge, despite Conservative promises before the election. We suggested that if this really is a comprehensive waste strategy for the next 5 years and they intend to keep their promise, the consultation should include the option of removing the charge. Every single Conservative on the committee voted against this. When will they come clean on their plans?

Sort It Centre changes

South Glos Council is making some changes at the Sort It Centres.

From 1 October the opening times for all of the Sort It centres will change to 8.30am to 4.30pm. These times will apply all year round (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day) and mean that the Little Stoke site will reopen on a Wednesday.

Other changes planned for 2016 include a resident vehicle registration scheme, where all residents will need to register their vehicle to access the sites, and an electronic van permit scheme for all vans. These measures will help to reduce the number of people from neighbouring council districts and commercial users from visiting the sites.

The existing automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system will be updated and used to implement the registration schemes. You will be able to register online, over the phone or at the One Stop Shops. The council will let everyone know when they can start to register later this year.

The Lib Dems were concerned about how the changes might affect small business owners and employees who also use their work vehicle for personal use. We secured a change to the proposals and officers are now working on a way to make sure people in that situation can still access the Sort It Centres.

Better recycling services for flats

South Glos is now offering people living in flats with communal recycling facilities an improved standardised service.

Following the changes, waste will be collected from four types of bin stored in the communal areas: 

• Paper and cardboard
• Plastic, cans, aerosols and foil
• Glass bottles and jars
• Black residual bins will still be available for those materials that cannot be recycled.

These changes do not affect flats that receive the normal household collection service.

The current bins used in communal waste facilities will be changed over to the new bins during the weeks beginning 2 and 9 March. The new bins are actually recycled themselves as they are the surplus unwanted bins that have been collected over the past few months. These new bins will be clearly marked with colour coded labels for the new recycling service.

The new collections will start the week beginning 16 March. Residents will get an information pack delivered when the bins are changed over.

Following the roll out of the flat changes, the public recycling banks serviced by SITA on behalf of the council that are located in supermarket car parks, village hall car parks, social clubs and sports clubs will be removed. They will no longer be needed as everyone will now have kerbside collections and the savings have been used to provide the improved service for flats. This does not effect banks run by charities.

For further information please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit, telephone on 01454 868000 or email waste.management@southglos.gov.uk

Unwanted green bins again

Before Christmas, people living in Coalpit Heath, Westerleigh and Frampton Cotterell could have their unwanted green bins taken away. Unfortunately the delivery firm failed to deliver the leaflets letting people know when to put their bins out. Claire took it up with council officials who promised people would get another chance. A "mop-up" collection is planned later in the spring. In the meantime, anyone who wants an unwanted bin collected can call the contact centre on 01454 868000 to arrange a collection.

Don't forget if you've found another use for your bin, you're welcome to keep it.

Collection of unwanted green bins

South Glos Council will be collecting unwanted green bins in some parts of our area between 26 January and 16 February.

You should get a tag on your black bin one to two weeks before the day when they will be collecting green bins in your area. This is a one-off service - if you no longer want your green bin, it must be empty and put out by 7am on the given day.

If you currently receive help putting out your bins and need assistance to put your unwanted green bin out, please contact 01454 868000 or email sortitteam@sita.co.uk before your removal day.

The collections are not compulsory. If you are using your green bin for another purpose you can keep it. And if you are a subscriber to the green bin collection service, make sure your bin isn't out on the given day.

Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh had their collections before Christmas, but many people didn't get notified as the delivery company that was suposed to be sticking leaflets through doors let the council down. For this round of collections, the council has gone back to using tags on bins. Council officials were reminded at the Waste Forum on Monday that where people's bins aren't out, the tag should be put through the door. Another collection is planned for those areas affected by the leaflet problem, we are chasing details of this.

For more information and details of green bin removal dates for individual areas please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/unwantedbins

Recycling Christmas trees

If you have a real Christmas tree, South Glos Council say there are a number of ways you can recycle it when the festivities are over:

• If you have subscribed to the garden waste service you can put your real Christmas tree in your green bin for kerbside collection on your collection day. Please cut the tree into manageable pieces and make sure the tree is not wedged into the bin.
• You can buy a single use garden waste sack for £2 from your nearest South Gloucestershire library. Please attach the sack to the tree and leave out for collection on your bin collection day (you don’t need to worry about cutting the tree to fit it in the sack).
• You can also recycle your tree at one of South Gloucestershire’s four Sort It centres. 

Please remember to remove all decorations, pots and stands before recycling your Christmas tree. Recycled trees will be processed with the rest of South Gloucestershire’s garden waste and turned into fertiliser and mulch. To check your collection day please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/localconnection

Latest on collection of unused green bins

On Friday, we reported on plans to collect unused green bins locally. Unfortunately the leaflet company let down the council and didn't deliver the leaflets telling people about the collection dates. This means that some of those included in the Frampton Cotterell pick-ups (parts of Coalpit Heath as well as Frampton Cotterell) missed out. Claire Young has taken this up with council officials and has been promised there will be another collection in the new year. Bin tags will be used instead of leaflets through doors to deliver the information. You can also request a collection or take your bin to the Sort It centre.

A large part of Westerleigh ward is due to have their unused green bins collected on Friday 19th September. You need to put it out by 7am and it must be empty. If you currently receive help putting out your bins and require assistance to put your unwanted green bin out, please contact 01454 868000. This is also the number to call if you have any other queries.

Don't forget that if you've found another use for your green bin you can keep it. And if you do subscribe to garden waste collections, don't leave it out empty when the unused bins are being picked up to avoid any confusion.

Unwanted green bin collection

If you live in Frampton Cotterell or Westerleigh ward and don't want to keep your green bin, you can put it out next week for it to be taken away.

Whether you do that on Monday 15th December or Friday 19th December depends on which road you live in and doesn't exactly follow either the ward boundaries or the postal addresses. It depends on which bin round you're on. You should get a leaflet through your door telling you which day it is - if your bin is being collected on Monday, you should have received the leaflet today or will get it tomorrow. It is being delivered by a delivery company so may come mixed in with advertising flyers - check carefully and don't just stick it in the recycling with everything else!

You need to put it out by 7am and it must be empty. If you currently receive help putting out your bins and require assistance to put your unwanted green bin out, please contact 01454 868000.

(Edited on Friday evening as updated information provided by the council).

South Glos Council to start collecting unwanted green bins

If you don't use your green bin, South Glos will be collecting them shortly. Obviously they won't collect it if you use it for green waste, and you can keep it if you use it for anything else (for example, some people have found that they're handy for garden tools)

Details of the green bin removal day will be provided on a leaflet that will be delivered to your address one week before the collection. This is a one off service and if you no longer want your green bin it must be put out for removal on the date on the leaflet you receive.

All green bins for removal must be outside by 7 am on the appropriate day and must be empty. They will not take any bins that contain waste, including garden waste.

If you currently receive help putting out your bins and require assistance to put your unwanted green bin out, please contact 01454 868000 or e-mail sortitteam@sita.co.uk prior to your removal day.

Warning - if you subscribe to the green bin collection service, please make sure that your bin is not outside on "removal day" or it will disappear!

Full details are on the South Glos website here.

Have your say on Sort It! Centre changes

South Glos Council is consulting about possible changes to the Sort It Centres (recyling centres) to save money by limiting the amount of commercial waste and material brought in by people who don't live in South Glos. This could affect the way YOU use the Sort It Centres - options include:

• Limiting business use by clarifying the definition of a van, introducing van permits and limiting the number of times a van can visit in a year
• Asking local residents to pre-register for permits before visiting to reduce the number of non-residents using the sites
• Introducing a charge for the collection and disposal of some non-household waste items
• Changes to opening hours and the days sites are open

You can download the consultation document here. The consultation is open until 14 February,

You can find out more and let South Glos know your views by:

• Completing the consultation feedback survey (you can fill it in online or download and print it)
• Email: consultation@southglos.gov.uk          
• Write to: FREEPOST RTCT-JXLE-EET, South Gloucestershire Council, Corporate Research & Consultation Team, Sort It Centre   Changes Consultation, Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, BRISTOL, BS15 9TR
• Phone: 01454 868154

If you would like someone to talk to your group or organisation about these proposals, please contact South Glos using the details above to arrange.