Alternating wheelie bin service rolls out in Sefton

Jun 6 2007 by Paula Owens, Liverpool Daily Post

SEFTON’S new alternating weekly bin collection service got under way yesterday, with the first wheelie bins being collected in Formby.

Thousands of bins have been delivered to homes in the village and, during the next 18 months, more than 220,000 wheelie bins will be delivered to homes across the borough as Sefton council aims to improve its recycling rates.

The roll-out is estimated to take around 18 months, and bins will be delivered throughout the borough in the following order: Freshfield, Ainsdale, Birkdale, Southport, Maghull, Aintree, Crosby, Waterloo and Bootle.

Ainsdale’s deliveries will take place in July and Southport’s throughout August and September.

Under the new collection system, households receive a green 240-litre wheelie bin for garden waste, and a grey 240-litre wheelie bin for waste that cannot be recycled. These will be collected on the same day on alternating weeks.

Green Bee recycling boxes for paper, bottles and jars, tins and cans and textiles will still be in operation and will continue to be collected on a weekly basis, on the same day as the appropriate wheelie bin.

And, as part of an opt-in kitchen waste collection service, residents will be able to request a green 25-litre food waste container and a smaller “kitchen caddy”.

The kitchen waste collections will be weekly, again on the same day as the wheelie bins.

This is the first collection service of its kind on Merseyside, with the kitchen waste processed to create soil conditioner.

Formby councillors say they are starting to see the bins appear throughout the village – and add a few teething troubles are anticipated.

Concerns include bad odours in summer due to the alternating weekly collection and increases in fly-tipping and rats.

Cllr Barry Griffiths said: “It should work, but people in Formby have a lot of waste and I think the alternating collections could lead to fly-tipping.

Cllr Ann Ibbs said: “There has been concern amongst residents about the alternating collections. If there are problems, we can try to ensure they are ironed out.”

Sefton’s cabinet member environmental, Cllr David Tattersall, said: “I am delighted to see the new service up and running.”

For information on the new alternating weekly collection service, call Sefton Plus on 0845 140 0845 or visit www.sefton.gov.uk.

paulaowens