Waste collection design, including our own initial approach, tends to assume a fairly able-bodied resident who can carry sorted waste to a collection point, stand in a queue at a buy-back point, and manage the general physical logistics of participation without particular difficulty. Direct feedback from residents with disabilities made clear this assumption excluded a meaningful group of people we were otherwise trying to serve, and it's prompted several concrete changes.

What we heard directly from affected residents

Feedback centred on a few specific, recurring barriers: standard collection points sometimes requiring a walk or terrain that was genuinely difficult for residents with mobility impairments, buy-back point queues that could involve considerable standing time without seating options, and general communication about schedules and processes that hadn't been designed with residents who have visual or hearing impairments specifically in mind.

What we've changed for door-to-door collection specifically

Where a household includes a resident with significant mobility limitations, we now offer, on request, collection directly from the household's gate or entrance rather than requiring waste to be carried to a shared or more distant collection point, similar in spirit to the flexibility we've built into collection in denser, harder-to-access housing. This isn't a blanket change to our whole model, but a specific accommodation available on request, since not every household needs or wants this adjustment.

What we've changed at buy-back points

At our fixed buy-back points, we now keep at least one seating option available near the queue specifically for residents who need it, and staff have been briefed to prioritise serving a visibly waiting resident with a mobility difficulty ahead of strict queue order where reasonable, rather than requiring an extended standing wait as a matter of course. These are modest, low-cost changes, but ones that came directly from resident feedback rather than something we'd have thought to implement without being told plainly what the actual barrier was.

What we're still working on

Communication accessibility remains a genuine gap we haven't fully addressed — our current schedule and programme information relies heavily on written text and verbal communication during in-person visits, without a systematic approach for residents with visual or hearing impairments specifically. We're exploring options, including simple audio-based schedule information and working with local disability support networks to identify what would genuinely help, rather than guessing at a solution ourselves.

Why we're treating this as an ongoing conversation, not a solved problem

We don't think a handful of changes fully addresses accessibility, and we'd rather be honest about that than claim we've solved it. Disability access needs vary considerably by individual and by specific impairment, and what we've changed so far reflects the specific feedback we've received directly, not a comprehensive accessibility review we've conducted independently. We're actively looking for more direct input from residents with disabilities to identify what else needs attention.

How this connects to our broader approach of community-driven decisions

This mirrors the same pattern that's shaped much of our organisation's growth — from our first community baraza onward, we've tried to let direct resident feedback, rather than internal assumptions, drive what we actually change. Accessibility improvements are a clear, if overdue, example of that same principle applied to a group of residents whose needs we hadn't adequately considered in our earlier planning.

What residents with accessibility needs can do

  • Let us know directly if standard collection or buy-back arrangements present a specific barrier for your household.
  • Ask about gate or entrance collection if carrying waste to a shared point is genuinely difficult.
  • Flag communication format needs, such as verbal rather than written schedule information, so we can identify how widespread this need is and plan accordingly.
  • Reach out even with feedback that isn't a request for a specific change; understanding barriers we haven't yet identified is genuinely useful to us.

Why we're deliberately not presenting this as a finished accessibility programme

We're conscious that describing these changes in a single blog post risks implying we've comprehensively solved accessibility, which isn't accurate. What we've described here reflects direct feedback we've received and acted on; there are almost certainly barriers we haven't yet heard about from residents who haven't reached out, which is exactly why we keep emphasising that this is an open, ongoing conversation rather than a completed initiative.

Frequently asked questions

Can I request collection directly from my gate rather than a shared collection point?

Yes, this accommodation is available on request for households where a mobility limitation makes carrying waste to a shared point genuinely difficult; contact us to arrange it.

Are your buy-back points accessible for residents with mobility difficulties?

We've introduced seating options and priority service for residents who need it, though we recognise this doesn't address every possible accessibility need and welcome further feedback.

How can I share accessibility feedback that isn't covered here?

Please reach out through our contact page directly; specific resident feedback is how the changes described in this piece came about in the first place.

Read more about how community feedback has shaped our decisions in our piece on our first community baraza.