By Kaye Wiggins
Councillors have approved plans to bring in smaller wheelie bins and food waste collections for Brixton residents, in a bid to cut the amount of waste that is produced.
Residents will be given new waste bins that are just over half the size of the current wheelie bins. For people living in houses converted to flats the bigger bins will remain, but some will be removed so that they are shared between more households.
From October, all low-rise households will also be expected to use two new food waste bins, a small indoor one and a larger outdoor one. These will be emptied once a week, although households will have to buy their own liners for them.
A council report also revealed plans to avoid removing recyclable items that were placed in waste bins – this measure would be introduced “after a reasonable period for adjustment and education”, it said.
The report said Lambeth residents put 9,500 tonnes of recyclable material into refuse bins every year, with the borough lagging behind other London areas for recycling rates.
It added that bringing in smaller wheelie bins would cost £950,000 as a start-up cost, but save £415,000 per year in disposal costs.
At the council’s cabinet meeting on Monday evening, deputy council leader Jackie Meldrum said there should be a “flexible” approach to the new bins, adding that large families should be able to keep bigger bins if they needed to.
The councillors said they hoped smaller bins would encourage people to produce less waste.
I was just wondering – what are they going to do with all the old bins? Are they going to be dumped? Recycled? It’d be great if they could be re-used in some way. Repurposed as mobile planters for vegetables perhaps? Or for trees?
There are many uses for used/2nd hand wheelie bins! We try and get creative at our comapny and suggest using them to store garden/sports equipment, like you mentioned they can be planted out and turned into a wonderful garden orniment… right now with this amazing hot weather we’re having I think the used bins would make a great outdoor drinks cooler by filling with water and ice 🙂
Isn’t it more likely that people won’t change their habits, the bibs will overflow, dumping win increase requiring more street maintenance and that fixes will get fatter and bolder still?
Grrr – phone autocorrects. Bins will overflow, dumping will increase and it’s the foxes that will get fatter!
Simon, Im writing a story about the dissatisfaction with the new bins. How have you found them since they have been introduced?
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