New waste service frequently asked questions (FAQs)

The best way to find out which day your recycling and waste is collected is through the app. Information relating to the new service will now be active and visible on the app. Please note that if your home is currently under review, information may not be accurate.

If you cannot access the app, check the printed calendar which was delivered with your wheelie bins, or contact our customer services team on 01702 215006.

Where should I put my wheelie bins for collection?

Present your bin at the boundary of your property for collection by 7am on your scheduled collection day. This is usually the front of the property. If practical to do so, you can put the bins out ready for collection the night before your collection day. A limited number of properties will need different arrangements. This will be agreed in discussion with SUEZ waste collection crews. Please contact us at NewWasteService@southend.gov.uk so your individual circumstances can be reviewed and discussed with Suez.

The time of collections may have changed from what you are used to. Routes and timings may have changed as a result of the new service and the collections may not take place at the same time of day as they did with the previous system. Some roads have a mixture of residents on wheelie bins and sack collections. Sack collections and wheelie bin collections can happen on different days.

There are different types of lorries for different types of waste and these might not be collecting at the same time.

If you forget to put your bin on the edge of your property and it is not collected, the collection crew will not be able to return. You will need to wait until your next collection.

If your bin was placed on the edge of your property and was missed, please raise a missed collection report. Please do not report a missed collection until after 6:00pm on the evening of your bin day.

Can I still put recycling in bags before it goes in the bin?

When placing items in the recycling bins (pink or blue) - the items should be loose and clean and dry. It helps with the scanning of the materials as it is emptied and with the sorting at the depots. If it is bagged, the contents of the bin cannot be seen by the crews and cameras on the collection vehicles, so they need to be opened and checked causing delays.

What should I do with spare pink sacks?

If you have extra pink sacks you no longer need, please consider giving them to those remaining on a sack collection.

These can be:

• friends
• neighbours
• family members

You can also use them to collect extra recycling materials if your pink lid bin for plastic, cans and glass is full. If this happens regularly, do consider applying for a larger bin. Alternately, please hand in full rolls of spare bags to your local library.

If you have spare pink sacks and can't give them to someone still using the sack collection service, you can use them in your black bin.

Please do not use pink sacks:

• for your non-recyclable waste if you are on a sack collection service
• as extra waste beside your black bin if it's full

Will the old paper blue boxes be collected for recycling at some point?

Blue boxes will not be collected. Residents are encouraged to repurpose or dispose of them at one of our tips.

Will you collect shredded paper?

Shredded paper can be put in your blue lid bin for paper and card. We recommend only shredding what you need to i.e. personal identifiable information, rather than a whole letter. If you can, contain it in an envelope or small box to avoid shredded paper blowing away and/or place it at the bottom of your bin or between other pieces of paper/card.

Will you collect additional loose cardboard?

Please flatten boxes before placing them in your blue lid bin for paper and card, you will be able to fit much more in. If your blue lid bin is full and you have extra cardboard, flatten it and fold it neatly next to your bin. We are unable to collect any cardboard that is larger than your bin.

Will you collect additional sacks or items

Your non-recyclable waste needs to be totally contained within your black bin and the lid fully closed. If you put out extra bag(s) of rubbish beside your bin, our crews may not collect them. There will be a process for logging, tagging, and engaging with residents who consistently present side waste.

We will communicate with you throughout the first few months of the new service to:

• help you understand the importance of keeping all rubbish contained in your bin
• make the most of the recycling services to ensure you have sufficient space in your bin
• provide information and support if you have specific problems with the new service

I already have my own bin can I still use it?

Privately purchased wheelie bins (non-Southend-on-Sea City Council provided bins) and dustbins (cylindrical style, non-wheeled bins) cannot be emptied as part of the new collection service. Your recycling and non-recycling will only be collected from Southend-on-Sea City Council issued wheelie bins. To achieve our main aim of reducing waste and increasing recycling, we need to put a limit on how much non-recyclable waste people can put out. Also, our collection vehicles may not work properly or safely with other types of bins.

Can I use a bin liner?

For the recycling bins please keep items:

• loose
• dry
• clean

This way, you will fit much more recycling in.

Please do not use bin liners or put recycling in bags in either your:

• pink lid bin
• blue lid bin

To make sure you can fit in as much as possible please, squash or flatten items before you put them in, remember the 'make it thin to fit in your bin' rule.

You should not need a liner in your black bin. If you are concerned about the contents of your black sack, we recommend either:

• double bagging your waste
• using the food waste service to remove food items

Can I recycle soft plastics such as plastic bags, plastic film, plastic film lids and wrapping in the pink lid recycling bin?

Flexible plastics can be taken to larger supermarkets. These cannot yet be processed through household kerbside recycling. If you are not able to get to a supermarket, please place soft plastics in your black, non-recycling bin/sack.

Flexible plastics are complex, which makes them difficult to cost-effectively separate out for recycling. If mixed with other plastics, it can lower the quality of the entire batch of recycling. Putting soft plastics directly in your black bin (or sack) has a lower carbon footprint than it going through the recycling process and then being removed. Please consider keeping some carrier bags to use for recycling your small electrical items.

Starting in 2027, recycling plastic bags and film will be required by law. This is part of new rules to make recycling easier. We expect more places will offer recycling for these items, and we'll let residents know when and how they can be recycled.