Proposed council plans to change bin collection dates to every three weeks could leave North Herts residents with the 'worst bin collection rota' in the East of England, fears Hitchin MP, Bim Afolami.

As reported previously by Hitchin Nub News, Mr Afolami has been urging the council to reconsider plans to add an extra seven days onto existing bin collections - meaning refuse trucks will only visit our streets from every 21 days - up from 14 days.

Amid fears over increased health concerns from overflowing bins, rubbish bags on our streets and the all-too real prospect of increased fly-tipping across Hitchin and North Herts, the Hitchin MP is asking the Labour/Liberal Democrat council administration to rethink their unpopular plans.

"Only 24 per cent of people polled agreed they would be able to manage their waste effectively," explained Mr Afolami.

Fears are rising over health concerns with bin collections set to only take place every three weeks from 2025, after the Labour/Liberal Democrat administration's consultation on their plans to slash general waste collection.

Speaking to Nub News, Hitchin MP Bim Afolami said: "Residents have told me that they are extremely concerned about the impact this will have on their ability to manage their general waste. 

"This decision opens up the very real possibility of overflowing bins, rubbish bags on our streets and the public health problems that come with those challenges in Hitchin and the villages. 

"These plans would leave local residents with the worst bin collection rota in the East of England – in pursuit of a relatively minor cost saving for the council equivalent to just over 2% of the money they get from local people through Council Tax and Business Rates.

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"Bin collections are one of the most important services the council provides and they have an enormous impact on keeping our area clean and tidy – somewhere we can all be proud of.

"Labour and the Liberal Democrats should re-think their planned cuts – bin the cut, don't cut the bins!"

Hitchin MP Bim Afolami is concerned about plans to cut bin collections to every three weeks. CREDIT: Tim Matthews/Hitchin Nub News

Residents in Hitchin and across North Hertfordshire will see a drop in the frequency of their non-recycling bin collection from 2025, according to plans being drawn up by local authorities.

As reported previously at Nub News, the move would see residiual waste, also known as 'black bin bag' collection, go from every fortnight to every three weeks.

Officers from North Herts councils say a once-every-three-week bin collection would encourage more households to recycle.

However, by speaking out against the unpopular move, Hitchin's Parliamentarian, Mr Afolami MP hopes the council will backtrack over the disliked forthcoming changes.

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