Cabinet considers plan to bring three-weekly waste collections to homes across West Northamptonshire

West Northamptonshire Council’s Cabinet is set to consider a recommendation to bring the Daventry area’s established 1, 2, 3+ waste collection system to most homes across the rest of the area.

The council is proposing the change to create a single, consistent system across West Northamptonshire, improve recycling rates and reduce costs.

If agreed, by spring 2027 general waste bins in South Northamptonshire and Northampton would be collected every three weeks instead of every two.

This system has been in place in the former Daventry District since 2018 and has proven to work well for residents. This proposed service would include:

• 1 – food waste collections every week
• 2 – fortnightly recycling collections (including batteries and small electricals put out separately)
• 3 – general waste bins

Only households that use wheeled bins for general waste and recycling would be included. Those where waste is collected in sacks, and flats that use shared bins, would not be part of the change and would continue to receive their current service.

In addition, from 2027 the Council will increase the types of materials that can be recycled at home. This will create more room in the general waste bin and supports the Government’s ‘Simpler Recycling’ plan.

If agreed, we will engage with residents to understand more about any concerns they may have and provide advice about how they can effectively use 1, 2, 3+ to manage their waste and maximise their recycling.

Cllr Nigel Stansfield, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste, said: “In a Resources and Waste Strategy consultation carried out in recent years, most residents told the Council that their general waste bin was not full on collection day.

“This shows that we are in a good position to harmonise how often general waste is collected across West Northamptonshire.

“This change will help us deliver an efficient and high-performing service that makes the most of the recycling opportunities already available.

“The 1, 2, 3+ system has worked extremely well in Daventry for many years and similar approaches are now becoming more common across the country.

“Bringing all suitable homes onto the same system will help us recycle more and keep costs down for the future.”

The review process included councillors from all political parties, representing wards from across the West Northamptonshire area.

Those who subscribe to the Councils garden waste service would see no change to the current fortnightly collection schedule.

The meeting will take place on 5 May and full details of the plans can be found on the website. We have also pulled together a full list of questions and answers from the Daventry roll-out for further information.