The Council will no longer collect textiles or small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) at the kerbside. However, alternative options remain available to ensure that these items are disposed of responsibly.

The key benefits of the change include:

• Simplified collections: focusing the black box collection on glass bottles and jars allows for a more efficient recycling process.
• Increased collection efficiency: the use of separate vehicles for black box, food, and AHP (Absorbent Hygiene Products) collections will enable more households to be serviced on a single route
• Service continuity: collection frequencies will remain the same. Black box collections will continue on a fortnightly basis, and food waste will continue to be collected weekly.

Residents are encouraged to check their online recycling calendars from Tuesday, 2 October, when updates will be made to reflect any collection day changes. In most cases, households will see no change, but some may notice an earlier collection date for their black box. Residents can also download the Council's recycling web app to stay up to date with collection schedules.

For households using both food and black box collections on the same day, please be aware that separate vehicles will collect the black box and food caddies.

Councillor Bryan Deakin, spokesperson for Climate Change said:

"The Council is focusing its efforts on streamlining recycling services due to the significant decrease in demand for the kerbside textile collection and small electricals being more efficiently handled through national take-back schemes and our recycling centres. Starting from Tuesday, 1 October, black box kerbside collections will be exclusively for glass bottles and jars, simplifying the process and increasing collection efficiency. We remain committed to supporting the community in reducing waste and recycling efficiently, with alternative options in place for textiles and WEEE to ensure responsible disposal."

There are a  number of alternative disposal options for textiles and WEEE:

• Textiles: while kerbside collection for textiles will cease, residents can make donations  through kerbside charity bags or at local recycling points and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), where textiles are still accepted. Various take-back schemes at retailers such as Dunelm and Marks & Spencer also offer convenient options for textile recycling.
• Small WEEE: with the national electrical take-back scheme, retailers now accept old electrical items for recycling when new ones are purchased, irrespective of where the item was bought. Additionally, all local HWRCs accept small WEEE items for responsible disposal.