New Bins for Old? Not in Surrey Heath!

10.59.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 12th Aug 2009

Two Wheelie Bins are being provided for every house in Surrey Heath - one green , one black

With the roll-out of the new recycling & waste collection scheme in Surrey Heath, new dustbins are being delivered to every house. However, the Council is leaving the disposal of the old bins to residents, rather than offering to collect and recycle them. Lib Dems have asked that the Council takes care of the recycling of the old bins at least for the elderly and vulnerable who are already eligible for additional support.

During August, Surrey Heath Council and its contractor, Verdant, are delivering two "wheelie bins" to every house in Surrey Heath, together with an additional two containers for food waste. With capacities of 240 litres for the recycling bin and 140 litres for the residual waste bins, these containers are significantly larger than the normal dustbins that most residents already have, which they use with the 90 litre black bags currently provided. But with 35,000 premises in Surrey Heath, each with possibly two bins, there is an obvious problem: some 50,000 to 70,000 old dustbins that are now no longer needed.

Residents might have hoped that, since 50,000 plastic dustbins corresponds to some 12 million plastic carrier bags, the Council might take the initiative in recycling them. But this is not to be the case. A Council representative said: "As your current domestic dustbins were not provided by Surrey Heath Borough Council, I am afraid that their disposal is the responsibility of the resident." Instead, the Council suggests that residents plant flowers in them or uses them as water butts in the garden.

On being challenged on this point by Lib Dem Councillors, the Council claimed that the additional costs of collecting the old dustbins would be far too high to be considered. Instead they are considering providing more information on reuse and recycling. Residents at this point, knowing this Council of old, might just arrange to take their bins to the County Council disposal facilities at Wilton Road, Camberley or Swift Lane Bagshot. After all, Surrey Heath as a whole currently recycles 30% of its waste, and the majority of that is materials that residents take to the recycling sites themselves at the moment - only a small part is the stuff that Council currently collects from our houses.

But what of residents for whom this will be a problem? Elderly residents can ask for special arrangements already on some aspects of the scheme, such as not being obliged to take their bins to the edge of their property as other residents will need to do. Lib Dems are urging the Council to publicise these arrangements, and to extend them for those with genuine difficulties in recycling their old bins.

Residents needing assistance with the new scheme should contact Surrey Heath Council on 01276 707690 in the first instance. In case of problems, please contact your local councillor, or contact us. You can send us a message through the "Contact Us" option on our Home Page.