Published Friday 31 July 2020 at 9:27
More than 60,000 new blue bins and reusable bags have been delivered right across the borough to help improve recycling rates.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s new blue bins for clean cardboard and paper will start to be emptied from Monday, August 3. Collections will vary from this date so please make sure to check your calendar for your first blue bin collection.
Residents’ burgundy bins, for general waste, will still be collected in exactly the same way, once every 2 weeks.
Councillor Jim Smith, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Executive Member for Environment said:
We were one of only a very few councils that still collected mixed recycling and hardly any recycling mills will now accept that.
The new blue bins will make recycling easier for residents by making sure that recyclable objects are kept clean and separate.
Feedback from residents told us that recycling can often be confusing. We have launched a new website – recyclebwd.org – to help inform residents ‘what goes where’.
Our crews are working really hard to schedule collections during the current circumstances.
Councillor Smith added:
We hope to increase the amount of waste that is recycled in our borough, which has fallen further during lockdown.
Not only will the new bins mean more waste will be recycled – these collections will help save around £80,000 of Council Tax each month.
We want to be one of the best places in the UK for recycling and schemes like this will help push us to our target of recycling 50% of waste by 2025.
The new blue bins will be for clean cardboard and paper while the grey bins will be used for clean glass, plastic bottles, tubs, jars, tins and cans only.
Plastic bags can’t be put in the grey or blue bins and must be put in the burgundy one.
A reusable blue bag is being made available for those who already use bags and sacks for recycling and residents who don’t have space for the new bin. If you need assistance with this or any other request regarding blue bins, please email cleansing@blackburn.gov.uk
The new waste calendars will include the dates for the new blue bin collections.
For a full A-Z list of what goes where and for tips on recycling, click here.