Find out if your bin day has changed, ahead of new schedule in Northampton next week

Waste and recycling collection days are reducing down from six days a week to five, after Saturdays were highlighted by householders as being an unpopular collection day.

As a result people's collection days might change as of Monday, depending on where they live in the town. Details of the new collection days are being distributed to households directly via a new service leaflet.

However, not all homes will have yet received the leaflet. So to quickly see what your collection day will be from September 17, and to find out which bins to leave out, people can input their postcode in the Northampton Borough Council bin checker.

When the leaflet arrives, it will contain a collection calendar from 17 September until the end of February 2019. It also gives useful information about what can and can’t be placed in each bin, box or sack for general waste, garden waste, dry recycling, textiles and food waste collections.

Residents who have received one of the new all-in-one dry recycling wheeled bins will also see their recycling collected fortnightly.

A spokeswoman for the borough council said: "The new bin provides additional space for recycled items, meaning fortnightly collections should be ample. However residents are encouraged to flatten cardboard boxes, cans and plastic bottles they place in the bin to make the most of the space available.

"Additional recycling will still be collected alongside the all-in-one bin. Residents are asked to place any extra items in a recycling box.

"Recycling boxes can make great storage solutions for in the loft, garage or shed and they also can make interesting planters. However, if residents do not wish to keep their boxes, they will be collected and recycled."

The collection of unwanted boxes will take place during weeks beginning 24 September and 1 October, on residents' new scheduled general waste collection day. After these dates, any unwanted boxes will need to be taken to the local recycling centre.

Cllr Mike Hallam, Cabinet member for environment, said: “All of the changes we’re making are as a result of feedback we’ve had from the public as we try to make our waste and recycling services the best they can be.”

“We know there has been a lot of excitement about the introduction of the all-in-one dry recycling bins and we look forward to hearing from residents about how these work in their area and the difference they make to our town environment.”

Keith McGurk, Regional Director for Veolia, said: “We want to make recycling and waste collection services even easier for residents in Northampton. A new all-in-one recycling wheelie bin for a majority of residents will encourage them to recycle more.”