For too long, households in England have been presented with a muddled and confusing patchwork of approaches to bin collections. 

The Policy changes read:

We are simplifying the rules to make recycling easier for people in England, while stimulating growth and maximising environmental benefits. 

Simpler Recycling will enable consistent, more streamlined collections from all households, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises (such as schools and hospitals). 

Local authorities and other waste collectors will be able to co-collect some waste streams by default meaning that they will no longer need to collect 7 separate streams. 

These common-sense changes will not lead to the proliferation of bins but will ensure the same set of materials are collected everywhere in England. 

New default requirements 

The new default requirement for most households and workplaces will be 4 containers for: 

• Residual (non-recyclable) waste
• Food waste (mixed with garden waste if appropriate)
• Paper and card
• All other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass)

These may be various container types, including bags, bins or stackable boxes.

This is the government’s maximum default requirement and is not expected to increase in the future. However, councils and other waste collectors will still have the flexibility to make the best choices to suit local need. 

This is a sensible, pragmatic approach to the collection of materials for every household and business in England.

Full Policy report: Read more of the full report on the official gov.uk website.