South Gloucestershire black bins to be collected once every three weeks to save £1m

Residents in South Gloucestershire will have their black bins collected once every three weeks from 2026 to save just over £1 million a year.

The new regime, created to cut costs and encourage people to recycle more, is expected to be formally signed off despite concerns of bins overflowing.

Residents in the district currently get their black bins collected every two weeks.

Fees to have garden waste collected have also doubled from £30 to £60.

South Gloucestershire Council bosses are expected to approve the changes during a cabinet meeting on Monday 11 November.

The changes form part of a wider new contract with Suez, for collecting bins over the next eight years.

A cabinet report said: “There have been numerous consultation and engagement events and exercises to ensure residents and stakeholders are fully briefed, informed and involved where possible in the decision-making process. These proposed service changes will provide savings to ensure the council continues to provide a viable ongoing waste service offer to residents.

“They also seek to improve recycling rates, reduce carbon and improve the quality of the service provided. We are now formalising the arrangements for contract award and there are no alternative options available at this stage.”

Opposition councillors previously warned that reducing bin collections could leave some residents short of space in their bins.

But council bosses believe a large chunk of what goes into the average black bin could actually be recycled or placed in food waste bins.

Household waste recycling centres, also known as Sort It Centres, will become in-house and run by the council, too.

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