April brings changes to our waste and recycling service, which aims to improve recycling in Hertsmere.
From Monday 7 April weekly food waste recycling collections begin for most residents, which could mean a change to a households bin collection day for some properties.
During the start of the year, waste crews delivered a 23 litre outdoor silver food waste bin, which included a complimentary roll of caddy liners along with a food waste leaflet and new collection calendar, to help almost 39,000 households make full use of the free new weekly food waste collection service.
The food waste collection service means that plate scrapings, stale bread, mouldy food, tea and coffee bags, meat, fish and bones and everything food, except for packaging, can now be recycled instead of being sent to landfill.
Councillor Paul Richards, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability and Net Zero and Public Health, said: “Whilst Hertsmere’s recycling rates are just above the national average of 44.1%, a separate weekly food waste collection service will help our residents to recycle more through their kerbside household waste collection service.
"By recycling your food waste and making full use of your brown bin – where you can recycle glass, plastic, cans/tins, cartons, cardboard and paper – and subscribing to our Garden Waste Collection Service, our residents can help divert thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill every year. Small changes will make a big difference."
With up to a quarter of the black refuse waste collections being food, residents can now help stop food waste going to landfill every week, where it rots and releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.
From April, food waste will be taken to a special processing facility in London Colney, where it is turned in to green energy and fertiliser for farming.
Cllr Richards added: “To optimise our rounds and make them more efficient there have been changes to some bin collection days from Monday 7 April. Every household should have received a leaflet to explain the new food waste service, alongside a new collection calendar, but you can check your collection day on our website at hertsmere.gov.uk/collections.
“Bins are collected over a two week period, on the same day each week. From April, we will operate different collections across the borough each week, so please ensure you refer to the correct collection calendar for your property.”
Due to the change to some collection days, the council will be prioritising the collection of the black bin for all households. This will mean some residents with a change of collection day will have their black bin collected two weeks in succession and see a gap of one further week in the collection of their brown bin.
Hertsmere only collects garden waste from households that have subscribed to the Garden Waste Collection Service and present a sticker on their green bin. The collections are an opt-in service to have garden waste collected from your green bin fortnightly.
The subscription cost for garden waste collections from April 2025 is £50 for the first green bin. There will be a concessionary rate of £35 for those claiming Council Tax support.
