Thank you for subscribing!

Residents could face £400 fines when the new rules come into force

Bin collections are changing today under the Government's Simpler Recycling initiative, designed to end the "postcode lottery" of waste disposal.

Households in England will have four bins to make it easier to separate waste and the new regulations mandate a universal standard for what can and cannot be recycled.

There are four bins for food and garden waste, paper and card, all other dry recyclable materials (glass, metal and plastic, including cartons) and residual waste, which is non-recyclable waste that is sent for energy recovery or to landfill.

The biggest change for many will be the introduction of food waste collections - this is currently being rolled out nationally and comprises of one small, five-litre indoor bin, and a larger 23-litre outdoor bin.

Residents across the country could face a £400 fine if they incorrectly place certain things in their bins as the new rules come into force.

In North Yorkshire, the council has already started rolling out red bins for cardboard and paper.

It allows the local authority to increase the amount and quality of recycling collected at the kerbside, reduce the cost of collection, and help towards carbon reduction.

Cllr Richard Foster, North Yorkshire Council Executive Member for Managing the Environment (Conservative), also told GB News that separating the recycling also improves the quality of material, reduces processing costs, and generates a higher value when it is processed.

"We've collected paper and cardboard separate and then we've got glass, cans, plastic and all of the recyclables in another bin, and then finally our general waste bin, and green waste bin," he said.

"The idea is just by separating them, they're actually more valuable to us as an authority, and they're also more usable in the recycling industry.

"Good quality recyclates have a higher value and therefore we can sell them for more, so therefore, in theory, we shouldn't have to put the council tax up, but we can spend that elsewhere on other things, potholes or wherever else it is."

Some local authorities have had weekly food waste collections in place for more than a decade. But many are having to start from scratch, which involves the introduction of new vehicles to handle food waste, as well as new bins.

North Yorkshire Council has been granted transitional relief, allowing it to delay mandatory weekly food waste collections until 2043, despite the national mandate for other English councils to implement them by 2026.

"I see it has been a lot more faff and I just wonder whether it'll achieve anything," he told GB News.

"Time will tell if it works out well, and all well and good, if it does. If it's not another different day, if it's all done, on the same day so you're not having to remember to put this out and that bin out, if they keep them together, that would help."

Down the road on the high street, shoppers in Northallerton also shared their views on whether the new bins are really worth it.

Judith Barlow and her husband Gary Barlow questioned whether there would be enough room for an extra bin in front of their house.

"Anything you can do to help recycling is good, but sometimes it's a bit of a chew on I think," said Judith Barlow.

Gary Barlow added: "Yeah, the council have us have so many bins outside I think it's going a bit ridiculous now, as where do you put them?"

Another North Yorkshire resident, Peter Sinclair, said: "I think it's a good idea, but I'm very suspicious of the fact that you often see stories in the papers and in the press to say that all the recycled and separated stuff goes to the same site, so I'm a bit uncertain about that."

Geoff Solomon said: "I've got no problem with splitting up recycling, but how many bins are you going to have? And then remembering which bins go out on which day?"

Gary Stott added: "I'm not up for another bin. I talk a lot of rubbish, but I'm not up for another bin."

According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the following 37 items will not be collected: