BLACK bins will only be collected once every three weeks under a new contract with the waste firm Suez signed by South Gloucestershire Council.
Leaders say the change, which will come into force in 2026, will drive up recycling rates.
But opposition councillors have warned the changes could create an “environmental health risk”, particularly for some disabled people.
The new contract, approved at a cabinet meeting on November 11, will be in force for the next eight years, with an option to extend it to 16 years.
It also includes recycling soft plastics.
Latest figures show that 57% of kerbside waste in the district is recycled, which has recently dropped.
Council cabinet member for communities Sean Rhodes said: “As we’ve come out of Covid, we’ve seen a change in people’s behaviour, and that’s why nationally there’s been a dip in recycling rates. “By moving to three-weekly and by bringing in changes to our plastic recycling, we’re confident that we’ll move recycling rates up.”
Cllr Rhodes said analysis of black bin waste showed 12.5% is food waste, 23% is already recyclable and 27.7% is “flexible” plastics, which will be recycled under the new contract.
That means only 36.8% of waste by volume in black bins is non-recyclable.
Cllr Rhodes said: “By changing how we collect soft plastics, we’re confident that’s going to change our recycling rates. It’s something to be really applauded, I believe. This has been a process that’s taken several years and the work began under the previous [Conservative] administration.”
The current nappy collection service will stay fortnightly, although Tory group leader Sam Bromiley raised concerns about the “environmental health risk” posed by adults using incontinence pads having to wait three weeks between collections.
Frenchay & Downend Conservative ward councillor Liz Brennan said: “Residents are still telling me how concerned they are about moving to a three-weekly black bin collection.
“Large households in particular, who recycle as much as possible, will really struggle with three-weekly collections.”
Another change is that residents will have to book a slot in advance, before visiting a household waste recycling centre, known as Sort It centres. These centres will also be brought in house and managed by the council.
Cllr Rhodes said: “I think the booking system is going to be over time a real boon. I use the sites often and to know that I’m going to be able to turn up at a certain time, having booked it, and I’ll be in and out without having to queue, is going to make the whole process so much more effective and efficient.”
Mangotsfield’s Sort It centre was due to reopen on November 25 after a month of repair and maintenance work. In an update on its StreetCare Facebook page, the council said the work was “progressing well”.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service