Shake-up of West Norfolk bin collection schedules announced

Thousands of people in West Norfolk will need to get used to a new bin collection day under plans outlined this afternoon.

New schedules, which officials claim will make the service more efficient and better able to accommodate newly built homes, are set to be introduced next month

The move, which is due to come into force from May 9, is expected to affect around three-quarters of all the borough's residents, though full details have yet to be disclosed.

The plan follows a review of operations by the borough's bin collector, Serco. A similar project in the Breckland district saw sweeping changes made to its collection schedules last month.

Emma Windle, the company's senior contract manager for Norfolk, said today: “These changes will also deliver a more even distribution of workload across the collection rounds.

“The frontline team in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk have been heavily involved in the planning and scheduling of these changes and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their help and support.”

Residents are expected to receive details of their new collection days by the end of April. Details will also be available via the borough council's website at that point.

However, officials have also stressed that collection times could still change even if collection days remain the same and have urged residents to ensure their bins are ready for collection by 7am on their scheduled day.

Paul Kunes, the authority's environment portfolio holder, said: “Serco are revising the collection schedule to make the routes more efficient and environmentally friendly.

“I urge residents to keep an eye out for a letter through the post with details of their collection day from Monday 9 May.

“You will also find updated details on the Your Bins section of the borough council website towards the end of April.

“I would like to thank Serco and our bin crews for the work they have carried out on putting the new schedule together.”

Bin collections will also run a day later than normal from this Friday because of the Easter bank holidays.