A SCHEME costing hundreds of thousands of pounds to provide new garden waste bins in Bournemouth to align with those in Christchurch and Poole is due to begin next week.

The bin swapping process will see the 140-litre containers swapped for 240-litre counterparts.

It is due to begin on January 18 and BCP Council says it is expected to take around six weeks to complete at an overall cost of around £380,000.

Residents who had the garden waste service in 2020 should put their bins out at the kerbside by 5am on their usual collection day.

The local authority said this needs to be done whether or not the bin has garden waste in it and even if residents normally have an afternoon collection.

The council’s collection crew will empty the bin as usual and then lie it on its side, before a second crew takes off the wheels, stacks it up and puts it in a truck.

A delivery truck will then deliver a 240 litre bin to households registered for the 2021 service. Residents are advised to leave it 24 hours before contacting customer services if a replacement bin hasn’t been delivered.

Councillor Mark Anderson, BCP Council portfolio holder for environment, cleansing and waste, said: "“I am delighted that Bournemouth’s garden waste bins are increasing in size to a 240 litre bin, consistent with Christchurch and Poole’s bin size. This is an important change for Bournemouth and reflects our commitment to aligning waste services across the conurbation.

“If you’ve got green fingers, this is a great way to dispose of your green waste in addition to home composting – and it works towards our sustainable environment objective as the waste that’s collected is turned into a high-quality compost.

“We realise there will be some extra noise early in the morning and throughout the day while the bin swap takes place and want to thank all our residents for their understanding during this time.”

If residents have registered for the 2021 service, they will receive a pack with their collection calendar as well as their 2021 bin sticker. The bin sticker should be placed on the new larger bin once residents have received it. The old bins will be emptied without the sticker until then.

In addition, all customers who signed up to the 2020 garden waste service across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, will be receiving two extra collections from 18 January to 12 February.

These collections make up for the missed collections last year when the service was temporarily suspended during the start of the Covid pandemic.

This suspension allowed the council to redeploy staff to essential waste and recycling collections ensuring they could continue.

During the four weeks of January 18 to February 12, residents should present their bins on their usual collection day to receive the two fortnightly collections.