Lewes District Council is looking at moving to fortnightly refuse (black sack waste) collections from November 2025, to increase household recycling in the district.
Recycling collections would stay fortnightly and food waste collections would stay weekly.
This system is called 'Alternate Weekly Collections' and would apply to most properties in the district.
Why are we looking at moving to Alternate Weekly Collections?
Central government has set all councils a target recycling rate - the amount of household waste recycled - of 55%. This will increase to 65% by 2035.
Lewes district residents are great at recycling and what we send for processing is generally low in contamination, quality material, meaning it is clean, dry and consists of the right items.
The recycling rate in Lewes district is currently around 41% and has been for several years.
However, because of the high targets set by government, the council needs to increase the recycling rate in the district. With food waste collections becoming mandatory across the country from 2026, there will likely be an increased national focus on performance in this area, and this is where Lewes district does not perform so well.
On average, about 38% of refuse collected in Lewes district is food, waste which could have been recycled or composted.
A further 37% is comprised of other recyclable items.
Just under a quarter of all homes currently use the council's free weekly food waste collections.
Only about 25% of the average refuse bin is non-recyclable waste.
Alternate Weekly Collections are a proven way to encourage households to recycle more of their waste. Most councils in England have already moved to alternate weekly collections, including all other district and borough councils in East Sussex.
The proposed change would mean an increase in the amount of waste recycled in the district and would reduce the amount of waste sent for incineration. It would also mean fewer collection vehicles on the roads.
Under the proposals, most properties would have their recycling and refuse collections the same day of the week (alternating each week). This would simplify collection calendars, making it easier for residents to know when to put their bins out.
Find out more
For more information and FAQs, visit www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/AWC
Feedback survey
We are inviting feedback on the proposals.
We are interested to know what positive or negative impacts changing to Alternate Weekly Collections would have on your household, and what help might be needed if the proposals are adopted.
The survey will stay open until on Monday 8 September 2025 at 5pm.
Feedback received through the survey will be reviewed before any changes are made, to help us make sure we implement any changes in the best way possible.
At the end of this survey, we give links for anyone wanting to request an extra recycling bin, request a larger refuse bin, request an assisted collection, clinical waste collection, or sign-up for free food waste collections.