Residents across Crawley will see significant changes to their waste and recycling collections starting on 1 April 2026, as the local council overhauls its service to meet new national standards. Under the updated policy, bin crews will now work on all Bank Holidays except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, while the start time for all collections will move earlier to 6.30am.
Crawley Borough Council has confirmed that waste and recycling crews will carry out collections on all Bank Holidays, with the only exceptions being Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. Previously, collection days were often pushed back following a holiday. With the new 6.30am start time, residents must ensure their bins are out before this hour, as the council has warned it will be unable to return for any bins that are not presented on time.
These adjustments serve approximately 43,000 households and coincide with a broader shift in how rubbish is collected throughout the town. As part of a national government requirement known as Simpler Recycling, the council is introducing a weekly food waste collection service. Alongside this, the council is moving from weekly to fortnightly collections for general household rubbish.
The changes are being supported by a three-year contract extension with Biffa Municipal, valued at approximately £8.4 million. The local authority notes that food waste currently accounts for 44.2 per cent of the contents of a typical household bin in the area, and these updates are expected to increase the town’s overall recycling rate by 10.4 per cent.
The initiative is also supported by funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which provided a grant of £848,000 for food waste vehicles and caddies, supplemented by £42,000 from council reserves. The council expects the entire overhaul to reduce carbon emissions from waste collection and disposal by 35 per cent.
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