Multi-wheeled bins introduced in recycling trial

Christopher Day
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Stevenage Borough Council A black wheelie bin which has been modified with three wheels on each side.Stevenage Borough Council
Bins with extra wheels are being trialled in Stevenage

A trial of wheelie bins with extra wheels has begun in an attempt to improve recycling rates for people living in flats.

It is one of several measures being introduced by Stevenage Borough Council.

The town has the lowest recycling rate in Hertfordshire at 39%, which is below the national average of 44%.

Rob Broom, the council's cabinet member for the environment, said nearly £1m of ringfenced government money would be used to make "waste services easier to use for our residents".

Stevenage Borough Council Steps with walls on both side leading to a car park. There are some plants in pots at the bottom of the steps.Stevenage Borough Council
Steps like these have made it difficult for some people in Stevenage to recycle

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday heard that 74 blocks of flats in Stevenage – 59 of them owned by the council – did not have any recycling provision, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers said people living there had "limited general waste provision", with purple bags instead of wheelie bins. They said the main issue was access, and it posed a challenge for council staff to safely move bins.

Of the money being spent, about £720,000 has been allocated to 41 blocks of flats, including the replacing of steps with ramps as well as improving existing bin stores and building new ones.

Most of the rest of the money will be spent on food waste collections.

Stevenage Borough Council A concrete ramp with railings on one side and a small wall with a fence on the other. There is a doorway in the background with some white electricity meters next to it on the wall.Stevenage Borough Council
The council plans to replace steps at some flat blocks with ramps, like this one, to make it easier to recycle

Officers said the high proportion of flats in Stevenage played a big role in the borough's low recycling rate.

Council leader Richard Henry said: "We did have a lot of people in our flat blocks saying 'We'd like to recycle but we can't', and that's one of the things we've listened to, we've acted on and now we're going to be delivering on."

The work at the flats will begin in August and is expected to be finished next April.

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