Changes to your blue bins

We will be delivering new, bigger blue bins to all households in the city who currently have a blue bin. The bigger bins will make it easier for you to recycle more.

When will I get my new bigger blue bin?

Because we are delivering 80,000 bins across the city, it may take us up to three months to finish delivering them to everyone. Please bear with us whilst we do this. We will be putting a list of delivery dates on this web page soon.

Please note: The dates stated in the table above are intended as a guide only and could change.

What can I put in my new bigger blue bin?

Your new bigger blue bin will have a sticker on it telling you what you can put in it from June. So, we need you to keep your new bigger blue bin in a safe place until we can start our new collections.

Your collection day has not changed.

When will my new bigger blue bin be collected from?

From June when we start collecting your new bigger blue bin, you can put your unwanted paper and cardboard into it - you will no longer need your blue and orange bags.

You can throw away your blue and orange bags or you can give them to us when we start our new collections.  From June, we will not replace any blue or orange bag given to us.

Why has the blue bin I've just received got a misshapen lid or does not close properly?

Unfortunately due to the way that wheeled bins are stacked and transported, sometimes the lids do not always close completely when first delivered to households. This is a common initial problem.

A week or so in warm sunshine is usually enough for the 'memory' in the plastic to return the lid to the correct position.

If the lid of your new blue bin lid is still giving you cause for concern a couple of weeks after it has been delivered to you, please contact Derby Direct on 0333 2006981 or email customerservices@derby.gov.uk

What do I do with my old blue bin?

We will start to remove old small blue bins from October 2013 onwards. We will let you know more about this nearer the time.  In the meantime, here are some useful ideas about what you can use your old blue bin for if you don't want us to collect it...

• Unused wheelie bins can be transformed into a home composter. This will help you to turn your garden and food waste into a valuable compost to use back on your garden. Ideas to help you transform your wheelie bin can be found online, please take a look on the Indestructables website.

What do I do if I don't want a new bigger blue bin?

We know that not everyone will want a new bigger blue bin.  If you don't want one, please tell us straight away so we don’t deliver you one.  Use the online form to let us know as soon as possible.

Why are you making these changes?

The government has made significant cuts to our budget and we have to save money and do things differently. One of the ways we can do this is to make it easier for you to recycle more and in doing so reduce the number of vehicles we use to collect your bins.

By collecting all the recycling in one bin we need fewer vehicles to collect the recycling and will save £500,000 a year.

Where do I find more information?

You can take a look at our Blue bins - frequently asked questions.

You can take a look at our short Changes to refuse and recycling collections presentation of why the changes are taking place.

Downloads

• Big Blue Bin leaflet (pdf, 197kb)
• Blue bins - frequently asked questions (pdf, 81kb)
• Brown bins - frequently asked questions (pdf, 151kb)