Bin collections City services are getting back on track, council report says

AFTER a year of disruption and missed collections, Bristol’s waste and recycling services appear to be back on track, thanks to a series of operational overhauls and strategic investments.

- Lewis CLARKE

A report set to be presented to the environment and sustainability policy committee next week outlines how the city has recovered from a chaotic period following the October 2023 restructuring of recycling routes.

The changes, introduced by Bristol Waste Company (BWC), aimed to save £250,000 by removing two recycling rounds. However, the move backfired. "This service change had a significant negative impact on the refuse and recycling service with a large increase in the number of dropped roads and missed collections," the report stated. By December 2024, nearly 4,500 roads were going uncollected each week - the worst performance in the service's history. Subsequent measures to stabilise the service, including an evening collection round, saw partial success but were hampered by Christmas illness outbreaks, operational issues at depots, and the seasonal surge in recycling volumes.