Council introduces half-size rubbish bins to encourage residents to throw less out

Residents in Brixton, south London, will now be given the new waste bins by Lambeth council, which is trying to bring down its disposal costs and the amount of non-recyclable waste people throw away. The common 240-litre containers will be replaced with 140-litre bins, which campaigners say are far too small for an average family's weekly refuse.

It is thought that any extra rubbish left besides the smaller bins will not be collected.

Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire introduced the smaller size bins three years ago, with residents accusing them of "punishing" householders in the borough who used a survey to demand their bins were emptied each week.

People living in flats in Brixton will keep their full-size bins, according to Brixton Blog.

Households will also be expected to use two new food waste bins, a small indoor one and a larger outdoor one. These will be emptied once a week, reported the blog.

A council report revealed plans to avoid removing recyclable items that were placed in waste bins – this measure would be introduced “after a reasonable period for adjustment and education”, it said.

According to Lambeth Council, residents put more than 9,000 tonnes of recyclable material into refuse bins every year - higher than most other London boroughs.

The report also said that bringing in these smaller 140-litre wheelie bins would initially cost just under a £1 million as a start-up cost, but save £415,000 per year in disposal costs. 

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9997496/Council-introduces-half-size-rubbish-bins-to-encourage-residents-to-throw-less-out.html