Council to spend £3.5m on 124,000 recycling bins

A council has agreed to spend £3.5m to buy 124,000 new recycling bins.

East Suffolk Council met on Wednesday night to discuss the purchase and distribution of the wheeled receptacles, which have a 240-litre capacity.

The authority previously approved plans to increase the range and volume of products that residents could put out for recycling, in line with new nationwide laws.

It will now be able to press ahead with plans to bring in a new collection system.

Currently in East Suffolk, residents placed all their recyclable materials into one bin except for glass.

The council will be adding a second bin which would mean plastics, glass and cans are placed into one, and cardboard and paper into the other.

While the majority of households will be able to take on another bin, the council did recognise there were some properties with difficult access or communal dwellings would require different bins to service their needs.

During the meeting, councillors heard the new bins and collection system would reduce contamination and the amount of processing required at recycling centres.

Questions were raised about what material the bins would be made from and if they could be recyclable.

The council said it had considered different options but had stuck with plastic.

It argued that many plastic bins had been in service for more than 20 years and helped recycling performance which had an overall benefit on the environment.

The council also agreed a revenue budget of up to £500,000 for distribution costs of the bins.

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