Changes to Barnet’s recycling and waste collections

Residents should look out for a leaflet through their letterbox from the council, arriving before the end of the month, which explains the service changes and includes a calendar setting out the new collection day. Residents can also find more information about the service changes online at www.barnet.gov.uk/recycling, with the new collection day information being available from 1 November.

The recycling and refuse collections will remain weekly and the garden waste collections fortnightly. The separate food waste collection will be suspended from 4 November. Residents will be asked to place food waste in their black refuse bins and keep their food waste bins and caddies for a time when the suspension is lifted.

These changes are expected to save £750,000 annually and should make collections simpler, make the new rounds more efficient, enable the service to respond to localised needs and allow the council to plan for future population growth in the borough.

As last year there will also be a pause on the garden waste collections over the winter reflecting the reduced use in the service over this period. However, real Christmas trees will  be collected this year.  

Starting this month Barnet Officers will be reviewing how to the deliver the collection service so that it is both economically and environmentally beneficial. We will then look to reintroduce the separate food waste collection service to a timescale which meets the requirements of the London Environment Strategy. The council will continue to promote home composting and food waste reduction.

Chairman of the Barnet Council Environment Committee, Councillor Dean Cohen, said: “The measures we’re putting in place will help us to deliver the recycling and waste collections service more efficiently and aims to ultimately make collections easier for residents. The changes will also enable us to make significant savings so we can protect vital local services for the people of the borough.”