Redbridge Council to introduce wheelie bins borough-wide

The new bins, which have a capacity of 180 litres, will not be collected if the lid is not fully closed and refuse left outside them will not be collected.

This will limit the amount of rubbish a household can have collected weekly, encouraging recycling and saving the council money. There will be no limit to the amount of recycling collected.

The decision to introduce the bins borough-wide was made at a meeting of Redbridge Council's cabinet last Thursday.

It followed an “extremely positive” trial involving almost 7,000 homes earlier this year.

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Cllr John Howard (Lab, Aldborough), who is responsible for civic pride, said: “We gathered feedback from some of the residents involved and the vast majority said they found the wheelie bins easier to use than black sacks.

“The pilot also revealed an increase in recycling levels among residents, and improved the overall street scene, with fewer ripped black sacks and less spillage seen on refuse collection days.

“There was also a reduction in the amount of refuse that needed collecting.

“I’m pleased to say the feedback and benefits we’ve been seeing from the trial are a positive step forward in the council’s proposal to roll-out wheelie bins more widely across the borough.”

During the trial, larger families who produced more rubbish were given bigger bins only if they could prove they were already recycling as much as possible.

A report prepared for the council’s cabinet meeting on September 10 notes: “A strict approach towards all of these policies, but in particular the no side waste policy, was an essential part of reducing refuse tonnages and providing motivation for the residents to recycle more.

“It cannot be emphasised enough how important the implementation and robust education and enforcement of these policies is to ensure a positive outcome. Only through these measures will the financial and environmental benefits be realised.”

On average, Redbridge households produce far more rubbish than elsewhere in the country, ranking fifth for tonnage of rubbish per household per year in the UK.

A report prepared for the council’s cabinet meeting on September 10 said areas involved in the trial produced around 13 per cent less rubbish than elsewhere.

Redbridge Council currently spends more than £23 million collecting and disposing of the borough’s waste and hopes to save around half a million a year through the new scheme.

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