We’re counting down to big waste collection changes which will affect all residents in Reading from Monday 9 June.
This means there is just five weeks to go until you will see a shift in either your collection day, week, or both as we make these important changes to create a more efficient and resilient service.
I believe these changes are a positive thing for residents, and there will be no reduction of service. Your frequency of service will remain the same, with recycling and residual waste collections still be collected on alternate weeks and food waste still collected weekly.
The changes follow a review of existing collection schedules that has helped identify ways in which the service can operate more effectively and efficiently, and the benefits of the new service to you will be:
A more resilient service: Only recycling or residual waste will be collected across Reading on any given day, instead of being split between the two. This means it will be easier to quickly cover any unforeseen vehicle or staffing issues which might previously have resulted in incomplete rounds
Expanding our service capacity to be able to provide new kerbside collections, such as glass when that is brought on board for Reading
Increasing capacity to meet housing growth and a bigger population which puts an ever-increasing pressure on collections
Some residents will see a change in their week of collection with their grey and red bins switching, along with potentially a new collection day of the week. Other residents will keep their usual collection week, but experience a change in collection day.
At the initial launch of the new collection rounds, some streets will experience a three-week gap in one of their waste collections following the start of the new schedules. If this does happen to you, you will be able to present any excess recycling or general waste that accumulates as a result on your next scheduled recycling or general waste collection date after the new rounds begin borough-wide on Monday 9 June.
The new scheduled waste and recycling collection dates will be available very soon, and later in May you will receive a hard copy bin calendar through the post, outlining your personal collection dates from June 2025 to May 2026. Please look out for this and retain it to remind yourself to put the right bin out on the right day each week.
I would like to thank residents in advance for their support whilst we introduce these important changes which will result in a more effective service for everyone.
Cllr Liz Terry is the leader of Reading Borough Council
