At a meeting of the Council’s Executive on the 9 July 2025 it was agreed that the Council would consult on its future waste strategy.
The vision and strategy will outline our plans for increasing recycling opportunities, managing future waste streams and improving services across Bedford Borough.
To help shape this, we are seeking your views on all the recycling and waste services we currently provide. Your feedback will play a vital role in guiding our future approach to household waste collections and services.
Why we are consulting
Bedford Borough Council is responsible for collecting your household waste and recycling and arranging for it to be recycled, reused, treated and correctly disposed. We also provide a range of special services for waste types such as clinical waste, commercial waste, and bulky waste. In addition, we run a single Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Barkers Lane in Bedford where members of the public can take household waste for reuse, recycling, or disposal.
Government waste policy changes mean we now have to make changes to our waste services to align with national objectives. Changes to the tax on waste disposal and treatment could mean that by 2030, without any changes to waste habits, the Council would spend an extra £1.6m on treating residual waste. This means that we must review how we collect, recycle, treat, and dispose of your waste, so that we can meet Governments requirements of increasing recycling and reuse, reducing carbon emissions and providing best value services to our residents.
How to have your say
We want to hear from residents, as well as other interested parties and stakeholders, to ensure our services reflect local priorities while meeting the national requirements set by Government.
You can share your views by completing the online questionnaire via the link below.
Respond to the Waste Strategy survey
If you are unable to complete the survey online, copies of the survey are also available at:
- Bedford Central Library, Harpur Street, Bedford MK40 1PG
- Reception at Council Offices, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP
- Bedford Borough Hub, Horne Lane, Bedford, MK40 1RA
The consultation will end on 30 November 2025.
What happens next
The meeting of the Council’s Executive on the 9 July 2025 agreed to authorise the Portfolio Holder for Environment to make the final decision on any policy changes taking account the consultation responses.
A briefing note on the Waste Strategy including a summary of the consultation responses will be prepared for the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee and any necessary changes to current policies will be implemented in accordance with the government deadlines for ‘Simpler Recycling’.