SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is urging residents to be ready for changes to bin collections in May.
Homes in the district will be moved onto three-weekly black bin collections from Monday May 11.
But residents have been advised that some people who were due to have a collection during that week under the old fortnightly system may find themselves waiting “22 or 23 days” before their bin is emptied on the new rounds.
The council says it has written to all residents who will go over 22 days without a black bin collection during the transition period and will offer “extra allowances for black bin waste on their first three-weekly collection”.
Other households may get an extra collection before the new collection rotas start.
The council is advising people to check what can be recycled on its app, and start using new blue bags to recycle soft plastics as soon as they arrive.
A spokesperson said: “This material takes up 29% of the space in the average black bin in South Glos. Recycling these items will free up space in the black bin for waste that can’t be recycled.”
Households needing special services for nappies or incontinence products are being advised to sign up for free, fortnightly collections.
Advice on the new system can be found at tinyurl.com/5f49zpuu.
The council is also advising residents thinking of disposing of fridges and freezers that it may have to stop accepting them at short notice, because of a national shortage in processing capacity.
A spokesperson said: “We are currently still taking fridges and freezers at our recycling centres. Space is very tight and we will check the situation every week. If the situation continues, we may have to stop taking fridges and freezers at short notice.”
The council is advising residents to sell or give away fridges or freezers that still work, or use shops’ disposal services where retailers take an old fridge or freezer when they deliver a new one.