CHESHIRE West and Chester Council is rolling out its new £40-a-year green bin recycling service as part of a revamped waste collection.

As of Monday, February 14, the council is rolling out new bins to thousands of households each month.

The new, larger recycling bins are being delivered across the borough between now and November, with the blue-lidded bins for paper and card, and a red-lidded bin for the rest of the recycling, including plastic and glass bottles, cans, tins, empty aerosols and black plastic packaging.

Recycling collections will also be fortnightly, rather than weekly, on alternate weeks to the black household waste bin. Food waste will continue to be collected weekly.

The bins will arrive with an information pack to each home, one week before the new service will start there.

The news comes as, from the end of February, garden waste collections begin again – at a cost.

The final free garden waste collections ended in December 2021, as the council has now imposed an annual £40 charge to households who wish to opt in to the service.

Residents in receipt of full council tax reduction can apply to have the bins for £30 a year.

The annual £40 charge is roughly in line with most neighbouring authorities such as Flintshire, Wrexham, Warrington and Halton, with only Cheshire East continuing to have free garden waste collections locally.

CWaC is asking residents to keep hold of their current garden waste bins, regardless of whether they subscribe to the new service or not.

Following the completion of the transition period, the council will put in place arrangements for residents to request removal of unwanted garden bins.

Those who ask for their garden bin to be removed then subsequently decide to subscribe and need a new bin will need to pay a redelivery charge of £21.

Properties assessed as not suitable for the new, larger recycling bins will continue to use their current system – for example boxes or bags – for recycling collections.

Residents will no longer receive brand new boxes when they request replacements. This is to avoid the waste, cost and climate impacts of people receiving brand new plastic boxes and then being provided with their new wheeled bins very shortly afterwards.

New containers will be delivered in exceptional circumstances and provision will be made for those residents that are not due to have their bins delivered until later in the year. Residents can also put out recycling in alternative containers until your new bins have been delivered.

Textiles will continue to be collected, but residents should put them in their black household waste bin, and will not be recycled. The council is urging residents to check if textiles such as clothing could be reused or recycled.

Small electrical items (ie smaller than a toaster), batteries, mobile phones, spectacles and small empty printer cartridges can be placed alongside the new recycling bins for collection in a sturdy box or plastic bag.

Residents can still take items to be recycled, including garden waste, at their nearest recycling centre.