In October 2023, the government launched ‘Simpler recycling’ - a programme that aims to make recycling easier for every home and business in England.
This was in response to a consultation about recycling. You can read the full response to the consultation on GOV.UK.
As a result of the programme we will offer every household and flat in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3 waste containers for:
- recycling
- food waste
- rubbish
By separating food waste and offering recycling to all households we will reduce waste in our rubbish bins and increase recycling.
We will make these changes by 31 March 2026.
| Start date | Changes |
| October 2024 | A bagged recycling service starts |
| 31 March 2025 | Deadline for businesses, schools and hospitals with more than 10 full time employees to be compliant |
| 31 March 2026 | Food waste collections for all households in Poole and flats in Bournemouth |
| 31 March 2027 | Deadline for business with fewer than ten full-time employees to be compliant |
| 31 March 2027 | Plastic bags and wrapping will be added to the items we can recycle in our kerbside recycling service |
What will change
All households and flats in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will have a weekly food waste collection. Flats will use a shared bin for food waste.
Homes who cannot use the recycling bin service will be offered a recycling bag service, collected every 2 weeks.
The bagged recycling service is for households already using a bag collection service for rubbish (Bournemouth and Poole) or bag and box service (Christchurch).
The recycling bags will allow residents with bagged rubbish collections to recycle the same way as households with a recycling bin.
Businesses will have a separate collections for recycling and food waste.
We can help businesses follow the new rules by offering commercial waste collections for rubbish, recycling and food waste.
Plastic film collection
We will include plastic film (plastic bags, wrapping, pouches) in the things we recycle in our kerbside recycling service for all households and businesses who use our commercial service from March 2027.
This collection will start later than the others as recycling facilities need new technology before they can separate plastic films for recycling as sorting is done automatically.
There are currently large investments being made in Britain to help our plastic recycling sector set up a recycling system and end markets for all different types of plastic packaging by March 2027.
What you need to do
If you use bag collections, we will contact you during the summer to let you know about the new food recycling service and how to order your recycling bags.
If you are a commercial waste customer we will contact you later this year to discuss the options.
If you do not use our commercial waste services yet and are interested, contact us to register your interest and get a quote.
Waste prevention
Much of the food we throw away could have been eaten. Love Food Hate Waste is a campaign that provides recipes to use up otherwise unused food.
You can find our tips to avoid creating waste and information about community fridges.
From 2027 packaging producers will pay councils for the costs of packaging waste collection and management under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.
This covers recycling of packaging materials such as plastic films.