Answers to many of the questions people have been asking us about the new refuse and recycling collection service, which starts in September 2012.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Why is the council changing the bin collections?
What is the new collection service?
Why are you changing the refuse and recycling collection days?
When will the new service start?
What bins will we have?
What will happen to the old recycling baskets?
Why do we need four containers for refuse and recycling?
What happens if I don’t have room to store all the bins?
I don't think my property is suitable for wheeled bins at all. Can I use sacks for refuse and recycling instead?
Can I have a bigger, smaller or second wheelie bin for my refuse or recycling?
I have trouble moving bins around. Can you help me?
Why is the council collecting food waste separately?
I won’t have room for two weeks’ rubbish in my green bin. What am I supposed to do with it all?
Will the council collect rubbish in sacks that doesn’t fit in the bin?
What will happen if I leave extra rubbish next to my bin?
What am I supposed to do with my children’s nappies?
I’m not happy about having used nappies in my bin for two weeks.
Questions about garden waste
I buy garden waste bags from the council. What’s happening about them?
Can cooking oil go in the food bin?

Why is the council changing the bin collections?
There are two main reasons:

• The council is concerned about the impact dumping waste in landfill is having on the environment. Greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, are created by burying organic waste in landfill sites. We are also running out of space for landfill sites, so this means we have to recycle more and send less to landfill.
• We need to recycle more to save money. The cost of sending waste to landfill sites is increasing. It costs £73 a tonne to tip waste at landfill sites. When you realise we tip over 40,000 tonnes a year, that’s a lot of money (nearly £3 million a year) to be paid for by your council tax. Even relatively small reductions in waste sent to landfill mean big financial savings.

What is the new collection service?

• A weekly collection of food waste, including: fruit and vegetable peelings; plate scrapings; meat bones; stale foods, e.g. bread; left-over pet food.
• A fortnightly collection of recyclable materials from a single bin: paper and cardboard; plastics bottles and trays; glass bottles and jars; food and drink cartons (including Tetra-pak); aluminium and steel cans; aerosols; aluminium foil.
• A fortnightly collection of all other waste that cannot be recycled.
• An optional garden waste service with fortnightly collections.

Ask a question about the proposed new refuse and recycling collections.

Why are you changing the refuse and recycling collection days?
We have redesigned the collection rounds to make them more efficient. We will not be collecting refuse and recycling on Mondays. The rounds have been reorganised so that all waste and recycling will be collected between Tuesdays and Fridays. You will receive a letter from us to tell you when your new collection day is.

This change has a number of advantages for the council, but for you, it means that there will be no disruption to collections when bank holidays fall on a Monday, and it will be easier for us to do catch-up collections at Christmas, New Year and Easter. It also frees up vehicles to allow us to introduce an optional collection service for garden waste on Mondays. Ask a question about collection days.

When will the new service start?
The change to collection days and the new recycling service will start on 4 September 2012.

The new garden waste collection service starts in April 2012, to coincide with the start of the gardening year.

Bins and containers

What bins will we have?

• A 20-litre bin with a lockable lid for the food waste. You’ll also receive a bench-top kitchen caddy to collect scraps in and some compostable caddy liners. 
• A new 240-litre bin with wheels and a hinged lid for all the recycling.
• Your existing green bin.
• A 240-litre brown bin, if you choose to have the garden waste service (optional).

Ask a question about recycling containers.

What will happen to the old recycling baskets?
You can either keep them as handy storage containers at home or leave them out for collection by us (we will tell you when to do this) and we will recycle them.

Why do we need three containers for refuse and recycling?
Having wheeled bins for the collection of refuse and recycling is a safer and cleaner way of storing and collecting waste. The new recycling bin is a bigger and better option than the current baskets and is easier to move.

The baskets are too small for many households and many of you have complained about the litter caused on windy days. The wheeled bin for recycling will give you much more space to recycle materials - the equivalent of nearly seven baskets.

What happens if I don’t have room to store all the bins?
The council recognises that a small number of properties may have problems storing bins. Although the new recycling bin is tall, the base only takes up the same space as two baskets. You don’t need any more containers than you currently use. We appreciate that not all homes are suitable for wheeled bins. Homes with no side, front or rear access may have to remain on a sack and basket system and we’re happy to talk to you about this. We will make separate arrangements for people in flats or households where it is difficult to store bins. Ask a question about black bag collections.

We will work with you to identify a solution that suits your household. However, we want to encourage everyone to use the new recycling bin and the food waste bin if at all possible. The garden waste bin is an opt-in service, so if you are in a flat or a house without a garden, you are not likely to need this bin. Ask a question about collections from flats.

I don't think my property is suitable for wheeled bins at all. Can I use sacks for refuse and recycling instead?
We need as many residents as possible to use the standard service with the standard size bins. There are also health and safety issues with the use of sacks (the new vehicles are specially adapted for wheeled bins). We need to keep the number of properties on sacks to a minimum.

If you think your bins are too big and you would not be able to fill them, or you have to keep the bins outside the front of your property this does not automatically mean you might qualify for sacks. But please talk to us about it – we’ll look at the options on a case by case basis. You may need a visit from one of our officers to see if sacks are the best option for you.

Can I have a bigger, smaller or second wheelie bin for my refuse or recycling?
Some households, such as large families, may need bigger bins and, equally, some may need a smaller bin.

We appreciate the size of our bins may not suit everybody’s situation. However, everyone will be given the standard size bins (240-litre) for recycling to start with and you should continue to use your current green bin for waste that can’t be recycled. With all your bulky recyclable waste being taken out of your refuse bin, there should be plenty of room for the average family’s waste.

The garden waste bin is an opt-in service, so if you are in a flat or a house without a garden, you are not likely to need this bin.

I have trouble moving bins around. Can you help me?
Yes. We already provide an assisted collection service for people who find it difficult to manage moving the bins and baskets around, such as the elderly or disabled people. We have no plans to change this. Apply here for an assisted collection.

Refuse and recycling

Why is the council collecting food waste separately?
There are two reasons:

• We want to keep the weekly collection for food waste, to avoid problems with smells and flies. The bins have locking lids to keep odours in and animals out. We’ll be giving you a leaflet with hints and tips about dealing with food waste in a hygienic way.
• Food waste makes up around a quarter of the average household bin contents. When this is buried in landfill, it creates greenhouse gases as it decomposes. We’ll be sending the food waste to be treated in a way that collects the gas produced to generate electricity, and the residue will be used as soil conditioner by farmers.

Can cooking oil go in the food bin?
No - not in any quantity. For example, if you need to empty your deep fat fryer, you cannot put that oil in the food bin - you should put it into a container, then into the green bin.

Ask a question about food waste recycling.

I won’t have room for two weeks’ rubbish in my green bin. What am I supposed to do with it all?
The new recycling bin is much bigger than the 140-litre green bin that most people currently have. If you make the most of the recycling service, you shouldn’t have much to go into your green bin. You’ll be able to recycle more materials than before because we have increased the range of materials that we’ll collect.

For example, you’ll be able to recycle bulky cardboard items such as cereal packets and pizza boxes. We’ll also be collecting all food and drink cartons, including Tetra-pak cartons, and foil. This is in addition to the materials we already recycle: paper, glass, cans and plastics.

Some AVDC households in Buckingham and Winslow have been testing a different refuse collection system for the past couple of years, which included fortnightly collections of the green bin. Most householders said they did not experience any problems with green bin capacity when we asked them recently. Ask a question about refuse bins.

Will the council collect rubbish in sacks that doesn’t fit in the bin?
No – extra rubbish in bags (or side waste, as it is known) will not be taken away. There are three reasons for this:

• Other councils have told us that people recycle more if they know the council won’t collect side waste – it gives people a bigger incentive to make sure they recycle everything they can.
• Collecting waste in bags is more dangerous for our collection crews. Bins are much safer and result in fewer accidents for our staff.
• Collecting waste in bags takes the collection crews longer as they have to make extra trips to the vehicle, which slows them down. A few seconds extra at each house turns into hours on a collection round.

Ask a question about side waste.

What will happen if I leave extra rubbish next to my bin?
We will not collect it. You will have to put it in your bin for the next collection or take it to one of the household waste and recycling sites.

What am I supposed to do with my children’s nappies?
We cannot currently recycle disposable nappies in this area – although the first recycling plant for nappies in the UK opened earlier this year, in the Midlands. For the time being, disposable nappies go in the green bin. You can minimise smells by using nappy sacks. Ask a question about nappies.

I’m not happy about having used nappies in my bin for two weeks.
We understand your concerns. However, there are actions that can be taken to minimise some of the issues.

Solids should be disposed of in the lavatory before the nappy is wrapped in a nappy sack and put in the bin. Cloth nappies are an alternative to disposables. Modern ones are a great improvement on the old-fashioned terry-towelling nappies and there’s lots of information online about reusable nappies and nappy laundering services. Click on the link at the bottom of the page for information about real nappies.

Garden waste service

Why do I have to opt-in to the garden waste collection service?
Not everyone will want this service – many people have no garden or just a small one. The garden waste collection is a paid-for service that you can sign up to. Garden waste will be collected on Mondays only.

How much does the garden waste service cost?
A yearly charge of  £36 per year is payable up front – just £3.60 a month. For this, you will receive a 240-litre wheeled bin and a collection every two weeks, during ten months of the year. There will be no collections made in December and January.

When will this service start?
In April 2012, starting in the Aston Clinton and Wendover area.

How can I sign up for the garden waste service?
The service will not be available in all areas to start with. However, you can register your interest with us now and we will let you know when collections are coming to your area. You can register for the garden waste service here.

Other councils offer a free garden waste collection. Why doesn’t AVDC?
Councils are only obliged to remove household waste free of charge. Having carefully reviewed our service, we cannot offer the garden waste service without a fee, because it would dramatically increase our costs. We think that it’s better to offer a paid-for service to those residents who want it and are prepared to pay for it, rather than charge everyone for a service they may not use. Ask a question about garden waste.

If you wish, you can still take your garden waste to the household waste and recycling centre and dispose of it for free. Alternatively, you can compost your garden waste at home.

I buy garden waste bags from the council. What’s happening about them?
Once the garden waste bin service has been introduced, we will phase out the garden bags. The material collected in these bags currently goes into landfill, which we want to avoid. The material in the garden bins will be composted, a more environmentally-friendly way of disposing of it. Ask a question about garden sacks.

I live in the brown bin trial areas. Will my waste collection service change?
Yes. The brown bin service in areas of Buckingham and Winslow will be replaced with the new waste collection service when it is introduced to all residents in summer 2012. You will continue to receive the current brown bin service, free of charge, until that time.

Feedback and monitoring from the trial areas has shown that there is a need for food waste to be collected weekly, which is not the case in the current brown bin areas. We will send you a letter when the brown bin service will stop and offer you the option of joining the new paid-for garden waste service. Ask a question about brown bins in Buckingham & Winslow.

People in the brown bin trial area already have the new 'all-in-one' recycling bins. In an earlier survey, over 80% of people in this area said they would prefer a single bin to multiple baskets. The recycling rate has already exceeded 50% in this area and residents like the big bin.

Any other questions? Ask us here, using our online form.

Date Updated: 08/02/12