03/06/2026
3rd June 2026: Message sent on behalf of Cllr Dave Taylor, Cabinet Member of Operations for West Suffolk Council
Dear councils,
I wanted to update you on our position in respect of the launch of Better Recycling this week.
New green-lidded bins and caddies
The main roll out of these is now complete. It has been a huge undertaking, which we completed in stages to help manage this significant logistical operation.
Through Kee Environmental and our own staff we have delivered nearly 240,000 items (two food waste caddies and green-lidded bins) to around 80,000 homes across West Suffolk.
We know there are pockets of households which have been missed and we are currently mopping these up as quickly as possible, particularly in Brandon and Bury. Our best estimate is this will be completed by next week. We will continue to resource deliveries until we are happy the job is done.
If residents contact you to say they have not had their new bin(s), please can you help us by giving out the following information:
If they have not been reported please do so using the bin not delivered form on the council website, if they have no internet access, they can call the council on 01284 757320 (note we are experiencing extremely high call volumes at the moment)
Continue to use your existing bins until the new bins arrive e.g.:
Green-lidded bin: if you have not yet received the new green-lidded bin, either separate your card and paper, place it in a cardboard box and put it out at your bin collection point on your green-lidded collection day as it will be collected if it is clean and dry, or continue to put paper and card into your blue bin, along with glass, plastics, metal, and cartons.
Food Waste: Until you receive your new food waste bin, continue to put food waste into the black general waste bin.
Put out bins for collection, you can check your collection days by searching your address on Find My Nearest
Change over to the new system once bins arrive (or as soon as you practically can thereafter)
The mixed materials in your blue recycling bin will still be recycled
Some misdirecting of recycling (containers and fibres) is anticipated by BIFFA (who operate the recycling facility at Gt. Blakenham), along with an initial clear out of glass bottles. This can be accommodated during the changeover and will still be recycled.
Collections
To ensure the new services work effectively, we have optimised our collection rounds, this has meant changes to collection days and weeks for some residents. So, we do anticipate some missed collections where residents have had changes. If residents contact you to say they put their bin out on the correct day and have not had their bin emptied, please direct them to report it here or call the council on 01284 757320.
Please be patient, as our crews learn their new rounds, especially those properties that are tucked away and require assisted collections.
I am pleased to say that the initial reports from our first two days of collections are generally positive, we collected 23,000 kilograms of food waste.
Thank you for your help and patience.
Kind regards,
Dave Taylor
