Households in Kirklees will have three wheelie bins and a caddy under waste collection changes coming in from 2028.
The Government is introducing a scheme called Simpler Recycling which will ensure all local councils handle waste and recycling in the same way.
Currently councils across West Yorkshire vary in what materials can be recycled. For example food waste is collected in Calderdale but not Kirklees and glass is collected in Wakefield but not in Kirklees. Garden waste is also collected free in Wakefield but there’s a charge in Kirklees.
The Government will introduce legislation to ensure all local authorities collect the same recyclable materials from 2026.
However, Kirklees Council will be exempt until 2028 as it has just signed a short-term extension to its current waste contract with private operator SUEZ. The original deal is a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract which dates back to 1998.
The Government will require councils to collect the following:
The Government has said that paper and card can’t be recycled with other materials so that means households in Kirklees will have three wheelie bins – instead of the current two (grey and green) – plus a 23-litre caddy to collect food waste.
The council says that the collection of grey bins will remain fortnightly and that people who also pay extra for a brown ‘Clip and Collect’ garden waste bin will continue to have to pay for that service.
The brown garden waste bin means that some homes could have four bins and a caddy and the council plans to talk to residents in properties that may not have the space for multiple bins to see what can be done.
The changes were outlined at a meeting of the council’s Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Panel which met at Huddersfield Town Hall on Tuesday.
The changes are still at an early stage with many questions unanswered but the council is keen to engage with residents as the countdown begins to 2028.
The council is about to launch a procurement process for a new waste contract to start in March 2028.
SUEZ currently operates the council’s Energy from Waste incinerator in Hillhouse, its ageing Material Recovery Facility (MRF), two waste transfer stations and the four household waste recycling centres in Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Meltham and Upper Cumberworth.
Clr Tyler Hawkins, Cabinet member for highways and waste, described the changes as a “once in a generation change.”
He added: “I think we’ve all heard it over the years from residents. Why can I recycle X, Y, Z in a neighbouring authority but not in Kirklees?
“Pretty soon that question will be a thing of the past as waste provision will be the same across the country.
“The national legislation does mean that all local authorities are in the same boat as well, which gives us the opportunity to share learning, work collaboratively with our neighbours and, most importantly, with local residents to make sure the waste offer works for everyone.”
Clr Hawkins said the clarification on the changes had only come from the Government last November so the council couldn’t move forward any sooner. It would have been “daft” to sign a new waste contract until the Government had made its intentions clear.
Clr Hawkins added: “While we plan these improvements for the future, we need to make sure we’re getting the basics right in the current service.
“That means extra resources and action on fly-tipping and improving customer services for everyone who uses our bin collection service. I’m looking forward to reporting on progress in September.”
