New bin days and the food waste start date are due by mid-October. Caddies still to reach Wilmslow, Poynton and Knutsford; three Macclesfield wards unlisted.
Households in Wilmslow, Poynton, Knutsford, Bollington and Prestbury are still waiting for their outdoor food waste caddies. Cheshire East says the last deliveries will run over “the next few weeks”.
Your new bin collection day will not be known until mid-October. That is when the council expects to publish new collection calendars, and the date weekly food waste collections begin. It will confirm both once every caddy is out and the new rounds have been tested. The council set out the timetable in a release on Friday 11 September (Cheshire East media release).
The same release gives the scale. Almost 148,000 caddies have been delivered across the borough, with a further 38,000 to go.
Where the caddies have and have not reached
The council’s caddy deliveries page, last reviewed on 11 September, lists deliveries by phase. For our area it shows:
| Status | Places |
|---|---|
| Delivered | Macclesfield Central, West and Ivy, and Broken Cross and Upton wards; Tytherington; Alderley Edge; Gawsworth; Siddington |
| Still to come | Bollington, Bosley, Disley, Handforth, High Legh, Kettleshulme, Knutsford, Mere, Mobberley, Mottram St Andrews, Peover and Marthall, Poynton, Prestbury, Rainow, Wildboarclough, Wilmslow |
Three Macclesfield town wards are missing from the page altogether. The council’s ward profiles list six Macclesfield wards plus Broken Cross and Upton. Macclesfield East, Macclesfield Hurdsfield and Macclesfield South appear in neither the completed phases nor the list still to be delivered.
We cannot tell from the page whether those streets were covered in an earlier phase under another name. If you live there and have no caddy, the council’s page has a form to report a missed or broken caddy.
The page also warns that rural addresses and new builds may get theirs at a different time from the rest of their area.
What changes when collections start
The council’s changes page sets out what happens from late autumn:
- food waste is collected every week, from the new outdoor caddy
- the black general waste bin is emptied every three weeks, not every two
- your collection day may change
- the silver recycling bin stays fortnightly
- garden waste stays fortnightly, for subscribers only
Households that put out black bags instead of a wheelie bin, because they have no space, keep a fortnightly general waste collection. They get a caddy and weekly food collections too.
Flats with three or more homes in one building get a shared 140-litre bin rather than caddies. Those are due in October.
Until then, food waste goes where it does now. If you pay for garden waste, it goes in the garden bin. If you do not, it goes in the black bin or on your compost heap (food waste collections).
Missed bins: the council’s recovery plan
The rollout comes as the council tries to fix missed and late collections. On 9 September Cllr David Jefferay, cabinet member for waste, apologised again and set out a recovery plan (Bin collections: an update).
He named the causes:
- shortages of HGV drivers and loaders
- more vehicle breakdowns
- the hot weather, on lorries and crews
- rounds that no longer match population growth, especially around new estates
The council says it has filled almost 30 posts in the last few weeks and raised its HGV driver pay. Lorries will be replaced after five years rather than seven. Rounds are being redesigned and tested with crews. “There is no overnight solution,” he said. “We collect around a quarter of a million bins every week.”
The council has not published figures for missed collections in its release, so we cannot say how Macclesfield compares with the rest of the borough.
What it means for you
- Keep your bins out on your usual day until the new calendar is published.
- Check your day in mid-October on the council’s collection calendar.
- Keep the outdoor caddy somewhere safe if it has arrived. Do not start using it for collections yet.
- Pick up a free kitchen caddy at any Cheshire East library or tip, while stocks last. Weekend and bank holiday tip visits need a booking.
- Plan for the black bin. Five or more permanent residents, or extra waste from medical needs, may qualify for a bigger bin. Delivery charges may apply.
The council also plans a borough-wide section 46 notice. After a period of education, it would let officers fine residents who keep putting waste in the wrong bin.
Our Macclesfield bin collection days page covers garden waste charges, bulky collections and the local tips. For the mobile tip rota, see our report on the mobile recycling centre launch.
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