Councillors updated on new bin collections

District Councillors have received an update on the progress of the new waste and recycling collection system introduced at the beginning of August.

The council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a verbal report from Cllr Tim Hoskin, the district council’s executive member for environmental sustainability, who detailed the issues encountered implementing the new system.

In his report Cllr Hoskin noted that there were 66,453 households in East Herts, each requiring three new containers. By the target date of 4th August, 97% of homes had received their bins, leaving 1600 short of the necessary bins. However, by mid September, 99% of bins had been delivered, with just 60 households short.

Cllr Hoskin acknowledged that it was clear there had been "huge inefficiencies" in communication channels.

The new system generated 800 calls a day to customer services and local councillors have been inundated with complaints.

It was also revealed that food waste had been far more than expected. Residual non-recyclable waste was down however.

A formal written report on the implementation of the new system is due on 4th November 2025.