Changes to waste and recycling collections from Autumn 2026
New government legislation means all councils in England must collect the same materials for recycling, including food waste.
For Cheshire East, this means some changes to how we collect your bins.
Contents
What's changing
From Autumn 2026:
- food waste will be collected every week
- your black general waste bin will be collected every 3 weeks
- your collection day may change
More information on changes to food waste collections.
What will stay the same
We will continue to collect your:
- silver recycling bin every 2 weeks
- garden waste bin (brown/green) every 2 weeks - if you subscribe to our Garden Waste Recycling Scheme
Why we're making these changes
The government’s Simpler Recycling legislation means all councils must collect food waste every week.
Although we are receiving some funding from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), the cost of introducing weekly food waste collections is still significant for the council.
To help manage these costs, we will move to collecting black bins every 3 weeks. Councils that have already moved to three-weekly black bin collections have seen general waste fall, and it could raise our recycling rates by more than 4%. Because food waste is a large part of black bin waste, collecting it weekly will also free up space between collections.
If you currently use black bags instead of a wheelie bin
We are reviewing the properties that currently receive bagged waste collections. If it is confirmed that bagged collections will continue, then these will remain as every 2 weeks. You will also receive weekly food waste collections and a new kerbside food waste caddy.
If you have a large household or medical needs
Food waste makes up a large amount of what is put in black bins. Moving to weekly food waste collections should free up space, helping your black bin last between collections.
If your household has 5 or more permanent residents or generates additional waste due to medical needs, you may qualify for additional bin capacity. Request a new bin. Delivery charges may apply.
Fly‑tipping and incorrect waste disposal
We take fly‑tipping seriously. It is a crime, and we will take enforcement action when we have evidence. More on fly-tipping.
To support the move to 3‑weekly black bin collections and help improve recycling rates, we are introducing a borough‑wide section 46 notice. After we have carried out education and awareness work, this notice will give the council stronger powers to issue fixed penalties to residents who continue to dispose of their waste incorrectly — for example, leaving bins out for several days before or after their collection day.
We are also increasing the size of our waste education and enforcement teams. Working with town and parish councils, these teams will focus on areas where current data shows the greatest need.
This work is supported by our 'Be the BIG Difference' campaign.
Keeping up to date
There’s still lots of work to do before we introduce these service changes, including receiving our new electric food waste vehicles. There will be no changes until after summer.
You will get plenty of notice about the new food waste service and changes to black bin collections before they start.
To keep up to date as we release more information:
You can still check your collection day at any time using our online collection calendar.
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Page last reviewed: 26 February 2026
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