Household bins in Bolton are to be replaced with slimmer ones in a bid to save the borough £1.25million a year.
The replacement of the standard 240-litre bins with 140-litre slim bins, approved yesterday at Bolton council Cabinet meeting, is also anticipated to increase recycling levels across the borough.
In preparation for the move, households will be visited over the next few months to offer residents help, advice and the opportunity for people to move to a slimmer bin sooner if they wish.
Councillor Nick Peel, Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said the change was a difficult decision and that the Council considered moving to three weekly waste collections.
He said: “We felt that moving to a slim grey bin was the best way to make these savings with less impact on residents.
“We understand that some households may already be recycling everything and may be worrying about how they will cope, so we want to offer all the support and help we can.
“We also understand that some residents need extra help to understand what can and cannot go in the various bins and we are going to provide that additional help.”
There will be no other changes to collection rounds or days for residents.
The move comes partly due to pressure to make savings across the council of £43million.
Slimming bins are just one of the measures the council are implementing to tackle waste disposal costs, which have increased from £16m in 2011/12 to £20m in 2014/15.
Cllr. Peel said: “We also want to target the 20% of households which are not recycling at all and encourage them to start recycling.”
With only 35% of food currently being recycled, the council plan to trial a ‘no food waste’ sticker campaign in targeted areas and create a school competition to encourage children to recycle.
A recycling officer will also be instated to visit properties whose bins have been stickered by bin crews to offer advice, explanation and support.
Recycling officers will additionally visit residents during the delivery of slim bins to remind them that it is an offence to fly-tip waste they will carry out regular patrols in the first weeks of the new bin collections in areas where fly-tipping is a problem.
Any residents who feel they need help with waste and recycling are encouraged to apply for a waste audit, which informs you of your waste habits and suggests ways to improve them.
Large families with six or more people, families with three or more children in nappies and households with one or more people producing medical waste may also be eligible for a larger bin.
Many other Greater Manchester councils also intend to either introduce slim grey bins or instate three weekly collections for their areas.
You can apply for a waste audit by calling 01204 336632 or by clicking here.
Image courtesy of jes via FlickR, with thanks.
