Pilot scheme of wheeled bins will not mean fewer collections
Hounslow Council moved to reassure residents that they will still keep their weekly waste collections when the council introduces the wheeled bin pilot scheme in May.
Speaking after cabinet approval for the wheelie bin pilot scheme this week, Councillor Colin Ellar, cabinet member for environment, said: “I want to make it crystal clear the new wheeled bin pilot scheme will not mean residents losing weekly collections anywhere in the borough.”
Cllr Ellar added: “Wheeled bins should also help keep our streets cleaner, because they won’t be prone to splitting or being ripped open by vermin, which creates more mess for bin crews and our street cleaners to deal with.
“We also hope the bin trial will encourage residents to recycle more. The more we recycle, we can save council taxpayers’ money from paying landfill tax and spend more on services.”
Cllr Ellar said the trial was a learning exercise , adding: “These areas have been chosen because of their broad mix of houses so we can learn how best wheeled bins are suited to different types of accommodation, and how convenient they are for residents."
The trial would see wheeled bins replace black rubbish sacks in five areas of the borough – Chiswick Riverside, Syon, Heston West, Hounslow West and Feltham West.
Around 7,500 homes would take part in the trial, with householders receiving a 140-litre capacity black bin to put out instead of rubbish sacks for non-recyclable waste.
Collections would continue to take place on a weekly basis during the trial.
The capacity of the black wheeled bins is the smallest available on the market, and is deliberately small so that during the trial, residents are encouraged to recycle more instead of sending waste to landfill.
The council is running the trial so it can properly understand whether the bins would work well for residents, lead to a tidier borough and also drive up recycling, which in turn would save the council money in expensive landfill tax.
March 22, 2013