Bristol City Council launches Waste and Recycling Collection Consultation

Bristolians! What’s the best way to get all those recyclable materials (more than 40% on average) out of the city’s general waste bins and into the recycling? A new waste consultation aims to get as much input from residents as possible.

Bristol City Council has launched a public consultation on the future of waste and recycling in Bristol. The survey is open from Monday 27 January 2025 and will close at midnight on Monday 10 March 2025 and can be found online here.

So, what’s the consultation all about? The challenge is clear: we all need to recycle more. Here’s why:

To save the city money

Disposing of general waste is hugely expensive, whereas recycling isn’t. Plus, some recycling can even be sold at a profit. On average, getting 1 tonne of waste out of general waste bins and into recycling is about £340 difference for the city. This money can be reinvested in crucial local services and really adds up over the weeks, months and years.

As well as reducing costs now, making these changes would protect Bristol from upcoming carbon taxes. If we keep the service as it is now, it’s expected to cost the city millions in the coming years.

To help tackle the climate crisis, protect the environment and reduce emissions

Getting rid of general waste is dirty and environmentally costly. Even with ‘energy from waste’ as our city’s main method of general waste disposal (find out more here), the environmental cost of Bristol’s rubbish is huge. The best option is to reduce it in the first place. In order to encourage behaviour change, tough decisions need to be made.

To hit our city’s ambitious sustainability targets

Currently, Bristol’s recycling rate is at about 45% of all household waste produced. Our target is 65% by 2035. We’re doing well, but there’s still a long way to go.

Based on data from the last time our city changed refuse collection frequency (going from weekly to fortnightly collections in 2005/6, leading to a 13% recycling rate increase) and other councils who have already gone 3 weekly, changing the frequency of general waste collections will boost Bristol’s recycling rates.

Have your say and help build the future of our city’s waste and recycling. Share your thoughts now via Bristol City Council’s consultation survey.

So, what’s next?

Once the consultation finishes in March, Bristol City Council will use the results to plan the future of waste and recycling in the city.

With changing policies in the coming years, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and the potential of upcoming Deposit Return Schemes (DRSs), Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as well as an uptake in local authorities reducing frequency of their general waste collections eg. fortnightly to 3-weekly, there will be a notable reduction in the household waste that we are producing.  

To be part of the positive change and help reduce the general waste you produce, you can find tips and hints in our 30-day Waste Nothing Challenge! Or why not book a talk at your community group, school or youth club from our community engagement team? We can talk about recycling, refuse and litter for days and love nothing more than having a chat.

You can also get lots of handy information in our blogs.