Weekly bin collections will start again across Basingstoke and Deane from August 17. 

The council says they have been able to resume the collections as staffing levels stabilise. 

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and its waste and recycling contractor Serco have reviewed staffing and are happy the weekly service can be resumed as lockdown measures continue to relax. The day residents’ bins are collected will not change. 

New subscriptions to the borough council and Hart District Council's popular garden waste service will also be available from Monday 3 August but residents are being advised it may take over a month for bins or bags to be delivered and collections to start. 

The council and Serco will continue to review the staffing of all waste and recycling services and will take measures to protect the core services during the COVID-19 crisis if required. 

Reinstating the weekly waste collection and opening new garden waste subscriptions means all of the council’s waste and recycling services will be back online by mid-August.

The council first made the difficult decision to stop garden waste and bulky waste collections in March and temporarily move to a fortnightly waste collection late April. 

While some residents will be pleased to see the return of weekly waste collections, the council is aware many residents are also supportive of a fortnightly collection and made great efforts to reduce their waste and recycle more during this challenging period. 
Cabinet Member for the Environment and Enforcement Cllr Hayley Eachus has urged those residents who have managed on the fortnightly waste collection to keep up their efforts, which have resulted in an unaudited increase in recycling of around 800 tonnes – the equivalent to around 63 double decker buses. 

Cllr Eachus said: “I know the return of the weekly waste collection will be much welcomed news for some residents who may have struggled to manage the amount of waste generated while spending more time at home and with the household waste recycling centre closed or fully booked for appointments.

“I also understand there will be residents who will be disappointed we are returning to the weekly collection and feel we are taking a backwards step towards increasing our recycling rates and achieving our climate emergency targets. 

“We always said this was a temporary measure to support our key worker bin crews during this incredibly challenging time. They have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to maintain a service for our residents and for that we are very grateful. 

“It is fantastic we have seen increases in recycling during this period and I would like to encourage those residents who have coped and have made changes to continue their efforts and only put their waste bin out when they need to. Most importantly I would like to thank all of our residents for their patience and support during this difficult time, there is still a long way to go but I am delighted we are now able to offer our residents a full complement of services again.” 

For more information on waste and recycling collections during the pandemic visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/covid-19-bins-and-recycling