Put bins out by 6am on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 August: SUEZ crews start early in the amber heat alert. The normal 7am deadline returns Monday 17 August.
Southend’s bins need to be out an hour earlier than usual for the rest of this week. Southend-on-Sea City Council is asking residents to have all scheduled waste at the kerbside by 6am on Thursday 13 August and Friday 14 August, because collection crews will start their rounds at 6am to keep workers out of the worst of the heat.
The request, published on 10 August, covers everything due out on those two days: wheelie bins, food caddies, recycling boxes and sacks. The council’s contractor SUEZ will begin collections from 6am on both mornings, and the council says normal collection times are expected to resume from Monday 17 August, though the earlier starts may be extended if the hot weather continues.
Why the change
An amber heat-health alert is in force for the East of England, issued by the UK Health Security Agency, which runs the alert system with the Met Office. The alert runs from noon on Tuesday 11 August until 9pm on Friday 14 August, and warns that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, with the greatest risk to people aged 65 and over or with health conditions. Temperatures are expected to peak in the South East later this week.
Councillor Daniel Cowan, Leader of the Council, said: “Our crews carry out physically demanding work and provide a vital service to residents. Starting earlier in the day helps reduce their exposure to high temperatures and ensures collections can continue safely. We are asking residents to play their part by putting their bins out earlier than usual.”
What it means for you
The deadline is 6am, not the usual 7am. On a normal week the council’s rule is bins on the inside edge of your property by 7am, as set out in our Southend bin collection days guide. For Thursday and Friday only, that becomes 6am. The simplest way to meet it is to put the bins out the evening before; council rules allow that, as long as they go out no earlier than the evening before collection day.
Nothing else about your round changes. Put out whatever is scheduled for your street this week. If you are not sure which bins are due, the Southend Waste app, which the council says has been downloaded by nearly 49,000 people, shows your next collections and can send reminders; our bin days guide explains how to look your street up online.
The missed-collection rules still apply. If your bin has not been emptied, wait until 6pm on collection day and report it within two working days. The council will not accept a report if the bin went out after the deadline, so on these two days a bin put out at 6.30am has no comeback if the crew has already been.
Expect early lorries. The council says crews will make an effort to keep noise down during the earlier rounds, but collections that normally reach your street mid-morning may arrive not long after dawn.
The heat alert matters beyond bin day. The UKHSA’s advice attached to amber alerts is aimed at the people most at risk in hot weather, particularly older residents. If you have an elderly neighbour, this is a good week to look in.
The early starts are separate from the ongoing restriction on fridge and freezer disposal in Southend, which remains in place while national treatment capacity is short. We will update this page if the council extends the 6am starts beyond Friday.
Have your say