A new waste collection scheme starts in Basildon this week after weeks of new recycling sacks and black wheelie bins being rolled out across the borough.

Under Basildon’s Council changes to the bin collections, which is aimed at improving poor recycling rates across the borough, residents are now expected to split their rubbish into six separate bins and containers.

Previously, recycling was collected in pink sacks, but now households will have to sort their recyclable rubbish into two sacks - one for plastics and cans and the other for paper and cardboard. 

Bags of non-recyclable household waste will also have to be placed into a new black wheelie bin for fortnightly collections. The black bins were previously collected weekly.

On top of these changes, residents must sort glass bottles and jars into an orange box, garden waste into a green bin and food waste into a grey bin. 

Refuse crews will start collecting rubbish from the new black wheeled bin fortnightly on the same day as orange glass box collections.

The garden waste collection service is also suspended for the six week period from December 4 and will start up again from January 15.

A petition had been launched calling for the council to reverse the plan as a number of residents claimed the changes would lead to more fly-tipping and the new bins would take up too much space in their homes. However, this was unsuccessful and the scheme is going ahead this week.