Residents in Manchester will be getting smaller waste bins as the council tries to save £2.4m per year.
Changes, agreed by Manchester City Council’s Executive committee, will see current 240-litre black bins replaced by slimmer 140-litre grey bins that will be collected once a fortnight.
All nine of the Greater Manchester authorities covered by the GM Waste Disposal Authority have already changed, or are in the process of changing, their non-recyclable waste collection to either a 140-litre bin collected fortnightly, or a 240-litre bin collected once every three weeks.
Manchester currently has a recycling rate of 33 per cent, the lowest rate among the Greater Manchester local authorities – and far behind Trafford (62 per cent) and Stockport (61 per cent), both authorities which have already made the move to fortnightly collection of 140-litre bins for non-recyclable waste.
- READ MORE: Beechwood Butterfly Ball raises incredible £50,000
- READ MORE: Law firm to scale the heights for St Ann’s Hospice
Delivery of the new grey bins will begin in August and is set to be completed by the end of October 2016.
All households will be contacted to let them know when their old black bin will be collected for the final time, with an information sticker placed on the old bin two weeks before the swap takes place.
Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Nigel Murphy, said: “When recyclable waste is not recycled in the bins provided, it harms the environment and also means that money is effectively being thrown away.
“It’s vitally important that we take action now to boost the city’s recycling rates.
“Doing nothing is not an option and the savings of £2.4m per year made will help us to protect other council services that residents care about, such as road maintenance, leisure centres and play facilities for children.
“We know that the alternative option of moving to three-weekly collections for the existing black bins was unpopular with residents, which is why we have decided to maintain the current collection patterns, but provide new, slimmer grey bins for non-recyclable waste.
“We are confident that this change can be implemented effectively and will continue to work with residents to increase the amount of waste that is recycled in Manchester.”
Full information can be found on the council website.
