• On Monday 10 June, Newham Council changed waste and recycling collection services for some residents.
• The changes apply to people who live in houses and houses split into flats.
• The changes were brought in to improve the efficiency of the council’s waste collection crews and introduce rules to encourage people to waste less, recycle more and recycle the right items.
• The reforms aim to maintain the momentum for change which has seen Newham’s recycling rate increase to 25.6%.
On Monday 10 June, Newham Council introduced several changes to waste and recycling collection services for residents who live in houses and houses split into flats. The changes implemented include new collection days, collections from the edge of residents’ properties, assisted collections, non-collection of recycling bins which contain the wrong items and non-collection of excess waste.
One of the five most significant changes - the collection of bins from the edge of residents’ properties - encourages residents across Newham to put their bin out the night before their collection day. By presenting their bins next to their gate or at the end of drive, residents help the collection crews to increase the number of bins that they can collect in a day. To ensure that all residents are supported in presenting their bins, those who are unable to move their bins can apply for an assisted collection via the council’s ‘Be Bin Day Ready’ webpage. Which means their bin will continue to be collected from any location at the front of their property.
Alongside this, the council’s new no side waste regulation will ensure that only waste presented inside rubbish and recycling bins will be collected. Newham’s collection crews will not collect any waste left around the bins, nor will they collect bins where the lids do not shut. This change will encourage residents to use waste minimisation techniques to reduce their output, and will support residents to recycle as much as possible, to ensure that all waste will fit in the bins.
Helen Dennis, Director of Public Realm said: "I want to thank residents for their help and patience so far this week whilst we’ve implemented the new collection rounds and asked residents to move their bins for collection. The recent reforms to bin collections and the crackdown on side waste are essential steps towards increasing our efficiency, boosting our recycling rate and protecting our environment. Residents have told us that they have already been able to recycle more since we started weekly recycling collections six months ago and I’m really proud that residents have embraced this change and have been recycling more and binning less. Together Newham has achieved some of our highest recycling rates on record since this has been introduced.
“Excess waste often contains items that could actually be recycled and more often than not, these bags end up getting ripped apart by animals. By encouraging residents to store their waste only in the bins, we hope to encourage residents to manage their waste and recycling more efficiently and improve our street scene.
“We know that Newham residents are keen to do their bit in reducing waste. These changes will certainly increase the amount of recycling we all put in our recycling bins. If residents need more information on the changes and also what can be recycled, full information is on www.newham.gov.uk/BeBinDayReady.”
Residents have already made huge strides in increasing Newham’s recycling rates over the last couple of years from 21% in 2020 to 25.6% in 2023. The Be Bin Day Ready campaign aims to keep this momentum going by simplifying bin collections and introducing tougher regulation on excess waste and recycling contamination.
Alongside the changes to waste and recycling collections, the Council is investing in measures to tackle fly-tipping, improve street cleaning and to increase resident’s satisfaction with the place they live and meet its commitment to make Newham cleaner and greener.