The government has recently introduced simpler rules on recycling in England, planning to end the confusion of different types of waste being collected in different postcodes. Scotland and Northern Ireland already operate (or are updating) their own devolved recycling laws that are equivalent to England’s simpler recycling system.

This should also mean the widespread introduction of weekly food waste collections across England and more separation of waste overall.

But at the same time, there’s still some public concern about the main “black bin” rubbish collection shifting away from weekly to more infrequent pickups.

For instance in Northampton, Thanet and South Gloucestershire, residents have recently been protesting over the frequency of their waste collections as well as over confusing changes, bins not being delivered and waste collections not happening on time.

Meanwhile, in Australia, a recent switch by a local council from weekly to fortnightly waste collection attracted criticism from some local residents.

Many people across the UK now get their dustbins emptied every two weeks. In some cases the recycling bin is also emptied every two weeks. This is not a cost-cutting gimmick, there’s plenty of evidence that our black bins do not need to be collected every week, and that cutting pickups can result in reduced waste.

This shift to fortnightly collections began through pilot schemes more than 20 years ago. Councils in the UK tested alternate weekly collections in the 2000s. Early research showed people recycle more when services are........

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