Towards Zero Waste: Royal Borough of Greenwich to collect general waste every two weeks from February 2023

Wednesday 29 June 2022

From February 2023, the Royal Borough of Greenwich will collect general waste every two weeks but recycling and food waste collections will remain weekly.  

Leader of the Council, Councillor Anthony Okereke, said: “We are facing a climate emergency and by making this change, we can all play a part in shaping a greener future. We know that the majority of residents are in favour of this positive change. Improving our recycling habits means less waste is incinerated and less waste collections need to be made by our crews -  lowering our vehicle emissions too.” 

“We’ll be supporting our residents in the run up to the changes to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. If anyone is unsure of what can and can’t be recycled, up to date information is available on our website. Together we can make Royal Greenwich a greener and cleaner borough.” 

Councillor Averil Lekau, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: “Fortnightly general waste collections will be a huge step towards tackling climate change and making Royal Greenwich an environmentally friendly borough. Recycling will still be collected weekly, so by recycling more of our waste, the change will have a much smaller effect on each of us as well. Ultimately, these changes will help shape a greener future for our residents and generations to come and help us move towards becoming a Zero Waste borough.” 

The transition comes after a six-week consultation in 2020 which confirmed that the majority of residents understood the need for the proposed changes. Decreasing the amount of general waste generated by the borough will also support the Mayor of London’s Environment Strategy target to reach a London-wide recycling rate of 50% by 2025. 

When this will this happen? 

General waste will be collected every two weeks from February 2023. 

Who will be affected? 

  • Most kerbside properties - which includes houses, houses converted into flats and low-rise blocks of flats that use wheelie bins – will be affected by the changes. 

  • Mixed dry recycling and garden and food waste will still be collected weekly for everyone.  

  • Properties with a smaller 140 litre general waste bin can upgrade to our standard size 240 litre bin. This will ensure all residents have enough space to contain their black sacks between collections. 

Who will this NOT affect? 

  • Properties that do not have bins, and use sacks only, and residents in flats with large communal bins will not be affected by the changes. Those who fall into this category will be notified by post. 

Find out how the changes will affect you.