Shropshire Council rules out move to three-weekly waste collections this year
A move to three-weekly collections of general, non-recyclable, waste in the Shropshire Council area will not be part of the council’s budget for the next financial year.
The council says it will not be considered until at least the 2026/27 financial year – with any changes only considered once plans for a new free weekly food waste collection have been confirmed, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet has agreed. Currently general waste household collections are every two weeks.
In the council’s recent budget consultation people were asked for their views on two possible changes to waste collections to help the council save money: collecting general waste every three weeks and recycling every two weeks OR collecting general waste and recycling every three weeks. Garden waste collections would continue every two weeks.
After considering the feedback from the consultation – and with all councils legally required to introduce weekly food waste collections from 2026 – Cabinet has agreed not to consider changes to general waste collections until weekly food waste collections are introduced – sometime in 2026/27.
The implementation of weekly food waste collections is currently being planned by the council. Any change to collection frequency would be subject to changes being agreed by the council’s Cabinet and full Council, public consultation, and discussions with Veolia, the council’s waste contractor.
A move to three-weekly collections of general waste could help save the council up to £2m a year, and increase the amount of waste that is recycled – helping to meet the Government target of 65% of household waste being recycling by 2035. It would also cut emissions from collection vehicles, helping to reduce carbon.
To reassure residents, if changes to the frequency of waste collections are to be considered, before any new change would be implemented measures would be needed to help residents with large households who may struggle with three weekly collections, or who have specific needs such as disposing of medical waste or nappies.
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy Leader and Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said:
“Changing to three-weekly collections of general – non-recyclable waste – could save the council a significant amount of money and help to increase the amount of household waste that is recycled in Shropshire.
“However, it makes sense to consider this change at the same time as the introduction of weekly food waste collections. If agreed, it’ll mean we make all the service changes at once, which would be best for residents and for our collection crews, would mean food waste won’t have to be left in black bins for up to three weeks, and will give us the time and opportunity to effectively communicate any changes to residents.
“We know a less frequent waste collection may present challenges for some households so we would work to develop alternatives for people who may – for a variety of reasons – find it difficult to adapting to a new a new system.”
Composition analysis of the waste from black bins going to the energy recovery facility in Shrewsbury shows that at least 30% (or 30,000 tonnes) of this could be recycled.
Many other councils have already introduced three-weekly waste collections, while many others are planning to do so.
The money that would have been saved by moving to three-weekly collections in the year 2025/26 will be covered by the council’s collection fund surplus.
