Petition launched to save fortnightly bin collections

By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison

A petition to save fortnightly bin collections in Wiltshire has been launched.

Earlier this month, a cross-party group of Calne-based Conservative and Reform UK county and town councillors launched the county-wide Say No to 3-Weekly Bins campaign.

The campaign opposes Wiltshire Council’s plans to reduce the collection of residual household waste from once a fortnight to once every three weeks from 2027.

At the same time, waste contractors will begin weekly food waste collections and soft plastics recycling which, argues the council, will reduce the amount of refuse in residual rubbish bins.

The council says it can save £3.4 million by moving to a three-week residual waste cycle.

But the campaigners say the move will hurt “those least able to absorb the impact,” including “elderly people managing chronic illness, families with young children, carers supporting relatives with disabilities, and households already under financial strain.”

Wiltshire Councillor Augusta Urquhart-Nicholls said, “The move to three‑weekly collections is being marketed as environmentally and fiscally responsible, but it ignores the day‑to‑day realities that many people are living with.

“This change simply adds pressure to the households that have no flexibility left to give.

“Just because other councils are doing it doesn’t make it the right thing to do. Good environmental policy supports people, it doesn’t punish them.

“Reducing services while increasing the financial burden on residents will not encourage them to be better custodians of the planet, it will only breed resentment.

“Those with the space, time, and resources can adapt. But many can’t, and it’s wrong to pretend otherwise.

“That’s why this campaign exists: to stand up for the residents who will feel this the most.”

The petition urges Wiltshire Council to reconsider the change and maintain fortnightly black bin collections.

It will be presented to the council once signatures are gathered.

The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/require-wiltshire-council-to-maintain-fortnightly-bin-collections, and there is a Facebook page at Say No to 3-Weekly Bins.

The campaigners behind the group are Cllr Augusta Urquhart-Nicholls (Calne Chilvester and Abberd, Reform), Cllr Ashley O’Neill (Calne Rural, Conservative) and Cllr Mike Sankey (Calne North, Reform).