Bin collection days are set to change for thousands of people in Brighouse and Elland.

Calderdale Council’s recycling and refuse collection contractor, Suez, will be making alterations to some collection routes later this month.

In August 2016 a new household recycling and refuse collection service was set up in the borough and since then more than 500 tonnes of extra recycling has been collected – the equivalent weight of 357 family cars.

But the new system has had its problems with Calderdale Council fining Suez after an ‘unacceptable’ number of collections were missed.

Now it has become necessary for Suez to alter some collection routes to ensure that all crews are able to complete their rounds in time.

The changes, which will take effect from Monday, February 20, will affect approximately 12% of households within Calderdale district.

All the affected households will be sent a letter and a new collection calendar detailing their new collection schedule. These letters will start arriving on Monday (February 13).

If people don’t get a letter then their bin days will stay the same.

A Calderdale Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that just under 3,000 properties in the areas of Brighouse and Elland will be affected by the changes and each will be written to, informing them of the new collection arrangements. This number represents about a quarter of all of the properties affected by the changes and equates to about 3% of the total number of properties in Calderdale.

“Unfortunately, the routes differ on a street-by-street basis, rather than postcodes or electoral boundaries, but residents can find out whether the changes affect them by visiting www.calderdale.gov.uk/recycling and entering their postcode. Of course, most residents wont be affected, so if they don’t receive a letter, nothing will change.”

Clr Barry Collins, Calderdale Cabinet member for economy and environment
Clr Barry Collins, Calderdale Cabinet member for economy and environment

Suez municipal general manager, Nick Browning, said: “We would like to thank the affected residents for their understanding and patience while we undertake these service alterations and while the crews get to learn their new routes. We will do all we can to limit any potential disruption and will have temporary additional resources on hand to deal with any unexpected challenges.”

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, Clr Barry Collins, said: “Now the new service has had time to bed in, it’s become apparent that certain areas could benefit from having a different collection day. This will improve the reliability and efficiency of the service for thousands of residents in Calderdale.”