New bins arrive for rubbish, recycling and food waste

We've begun to roll out new wheeled bins and food waste caddies for more than 50,000 local households.

We're making these changes to increase recycling, keep our streets cleaner and our crews safer. If selected, every home will have an opportunity to ensure the new bins suit your requirements.

If you're affected, you will have received a letter in the post from us.

The new food waste collections will take place on your normal collection day. If you receive twice-weekly collections of recycling and waste, your food waste will only be collected on the day of your first collection. (For example, if your collection days are Monday and Wednesday, your food waste will only be collected on Monday.)

With the new wheeled bins you no longer need to use clear sacks for recycling, just put all clean and dry recycling loose in your recycling bin.

We're speaking to as many residents as we can across H&F about these changes. We want to ensure that the service works for you and your home. And we're also holding drop-in events at libraries in Shepherds Bush for the first wave of deliveries.

If you have any questions or concerns about the new food waste collections or wheeled bins, please email: newbins@lbhf.gov.uk

The new bin rollout follows a successful launch of wheeled bins to more than 5,000 local households in 2020.

If you already have food waste and wheeled bin collections and need a replacement wheeled bin or additional food waste caddies, please email: newbins@lbhf.gov.uk

Get your old bin collected

Once you have received your new bins you can ask us to collect your old dustbins, book your old bin collection here.

What can I put in the food waste caddies?

Use for food scraps and unwanted leftovers including:

• fish, meat and bones
• leftovers and plate scrapings
• bread, rice and pasta
• fruit and veg peelings
• teabags and coffee grounds.

How to use your food caddies:

• line your indoor food caddy with a compostable liner or wrap food in newspaper
• when you need to empty your caddy, tie the top of the liner and put it in the outdoor food container
• ensure your outdoor food container is locked to protect food waste from animals and birds.

Do not put any of these in the food caddies:

• packing of any kind
• liquids such as milk or oil
• all plastic bags and film
• garden waste (Advice on what to do with garden waste)
• pet waste.

Check what you can recycle in the green bin.

Collection day and time

You may notice that the time changes when your recycling and waste are collected. Vehicles will now only collect one material at a time, which is more efficient and improves the quality of recycling.

Please wait until 4pm before making a report. With your recycling and waste being collected by two different vehicles, our crews may arrive later on your collection day.

Please make sure your bins are outside by 6am on your day of collection and leave your bin visible at the edge of your property, close to the pavement (but not on it). We will not be able to collect bins from your garden.

What's inside the new bins?

If your property is eligible for the new bins or food waste caddies, what can you expect when they arrive?

Watch these videos to find out more about what's inside:

Find your food caddy (YouTube)

How to lock your food waste caddy (YouTube)

Frequently asked questions

• Will my waste collection days or frequency change?

  No. The collection schedule is not changing, to minimise any inconvenience to residents. Everyone will continue to receive their usual weekly refuse and recycling collection, as well as an additional weekly food waste collection. If you have more than one waste collection a week, food waste will be collected on the earlier day.

  The only change you might notice is that your recycling and waste will be collected at different times on your collection day, by different vehicles. This is because vehicles will now collect one material type at a time, to minimise the chance of contamination across waste streams, and to improve the efficiency of the service.

• Why is the council introducing this scheme?

  Food waste and wheeled bin collections are common across London and in other urban areas. There are many benefits to the proposed collection method, including:

  • The ability to have a separate food waste collection. A significant proportion of the waste we collect is food waste and it is currently disposed of with household waste. By collecting food waste separately, we can take it to a specialised treatment facility, reducing emissions from disposal, converting it into compost and generating green energy.
  • Having containers for refuse and recycling, especially in cases where the latter is larger, will help to minimise waste and increase recycling.
  • Using special bins will significantly reduce the use of single use plastic sacks, helping to meet the council's climate commitment. Wheeled bins will reduce the number of refuse and recycling bags being split open by foxes, birds, or other animals, and reduce waste and litter on our streets.
  • Container collections support the health and safety of our collection crews. Wheeling bins to an automated lifting mechanism rather than carrying and physically lifting the bags onto the vehicle will reduce musculoskeletal injuries. Collecting in containers rather than bags will reduce the risk of injuries caused by glass or other sharp materials.

• Will all properties in my street receive new bins?

  They may not as, unfortunately, not all properties are suitable for wheeled bins. For example, there may not be sufficient space for wheeled bins outside every property.

  Where properties are unsuitable for the new bins, they will have their waste and recycling collected as they do now, but with the addition of the new food waste recycling service.

• What bins will eligible properties receive?

  All homes will receive a seven-litre indoor food waste caddy, with a larger 23-litre outdoor container to put their food waste into for collection.

  Eligible homes will receive one 140-litre general refuse bin and one 240-litre recycling bin.

  Some properties may find they require a larger or smaller bin as the scheme develops, we will work with residents to accommodate their needs as far as possible. Some homes may also prefer to share bins with neighbours.

• What are the dimensions of the new bins?

  Please see the illustrations for dimensions. The 140-litre bin is for general rubbish. The 240-litre bin is for your recycling.

  

  The main dimensions of the 140-litre general rubbish bin are:

  Height - 1100 mm
  Width - 490 mm
  Depth - 555 mm

  

  The main dimensions of the 240-litre recycling bin are:

  Height - 1100 mm
  Width - 590 mm
  Depth - 740 mm

• I don't think I'm suitable for the new bins

  We'll have staff accompanying the delivery crews when we deliver the bins to double check suitability. We will only deliver wheeled bins to homes where there is accessible space for the bins to be stored. We won't deliver bins where the only place they could be stored is on the pavement, where they would cause an obstruction, and the bins can't be safely lifted up or down flights of steps when full, for example.

• Can residents use their existing bins for the new service?

  Unfortunately not. The bins need to be standardised in order that they can be collected using the lift mechanism on the contractor's vehicle. So, we will be providing the new bins free of charge to residents.

• What should residents do with their old bins?

  We would encourage residents to find an alternate use for their bin if possible.

  If you are unable to reuse your old bin, we will be offering a free collection service, and recycling as many of the old bins as possible.

  Residents will receive a letter from us before the new bins are delivered which will contain labels to stick on your old bins. Once you've received these, you will need to register online to book the collection of your old bin.

• When will my new bins be delivered?

  The new food waste caddies and wheeled bins are being delivered to residents using a phased approach to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Before the delivery of your bin(s), you will receive a letter informing you of when your delivery will happen and what type it/they will be. You do not need to be at home when the bins are delivered, as they will be delivered to your doorstep along with useful information on how to use them.

• When will the waste teams start to collect from my new bins?

  The collections will start from the next collection day after the delivery of your bin.

  So, if your scheduled collection day is a Monday, the collections will start the Monday after your bins are delivered, regardless of the day you receive them.

  Your food waste will be collected on the same day as your recycling and waste. However, not all three collections will take place at the exact same time, as they will be collected on different vehicles.

• Will I receive liners for my new food waste bins?

  Residents will receive a roll of compostable caddy liners with the delivery of their indoor food waste caddies to get them started with the new service. Once this roll has been used up, residents can choose to line the caddy with newspaper or buy replacement liners at a local supermarket. Caddies can also be used without a lining and washed between collections. Please do not use plastic bags to line your food waste caddy.

• What if I don't want new bins, and would like to continue presenting my waste in sacks?

  We appreciate that this is a significant change in the way we deliver our services.

  Whilst we believe there are significant environmental benefits to the new methods of collection, we also appreciate that some residents may have concerns about the new scheme. Our experience from the areas where this scheme is already running is that we have been able to increase recycling and improve the cleanliness of our streets.

  Therefore, we would ask that all residents who have the space for wheeled bin containers use the scheme to maximise the benefits this will bring to their street and their wider community.

  We will only deliver bins where we feel there is enough space but if you receive new containers and feel that you do not have the space to safely use your wheeled bins, you can request for your property to be reassessed by e-mailing us at newbins@lbhf.gov.uk.

• Will I still receive my regular delivery of recycling sacks?

  Properties with wheeled bins will no longer receive recycling sacks. Residents will be able to place their dry mixed recycling directly into their recycling bin, so will no longer need the sacks. This will help to significantly reduce the reliance on single use plastics to facilitate our recycling collections.

  Please place your recycling loose into the new recycling bin – if you use a sack to carry your recycling to your wheeled bin please empty it into the bin and reuse it if possible.

• What if residents find it difficult to physically manage and manoeuvre their new bins?

  We can offer an assisted collection service for those who need it. If you think you may require this service, please register online.

• What arrangements have been made for residents to contact the council about the new services?

  Residents will receive information in advance of the new service through their letter box.

  Detailed information will be provided with the new containers when they are delivered.

  All necessary information will be provided on our website.

  We will also be holding in-person drop-in events. Locations and times for these events will be detailed in leaflets delivered to residents, and we will be updating the event times and details on this page as they are confirmed.

  When the containers are being delivered to households, council officers and Veolia staff will be with the delivery crews in order to engage with residents and discuss the new scheme with them.

  If you're not able to use email and need to speak to us, please call 020 8753 1100.

• Why are the council not also offering a separate collection of garden waste?

  We are currently developing proposals for a service to collect garden waste as a separate waste stream in the future for recycling. We hope to implement separate garden waste collections from spring 2024.

• I live in a flat/communal property. Will I receive a separate food waste collection?

  In this phase of the scheme, food waste collections will be offered to kerbside properties initially.

  The challenges of collection food waste separately from communal bin stores and flats above shops are very different from those faced with collecting from kerbside properties.

  However, we appreciate that residents in such properties may be keen to recycle their food waste, so we are working across the council and with our contractor to come up with a collection system that will enable us to offer food waste collections from these properties in 2024.

• What size liners should I get for the indoor food caddy?

  The indoor food caddy is 7 Litres, you can purchase liners in this size or 10 litre size which can make it easier and cleaner to tie up when full. You can also line your caddy with newspaper if you wish.