Wheelie Bin News Roundup 14th October

Wheelie Bin News Roundup 14^th October

If taking the bins out is the bane of your life, an engineer from the US might have just invented the answer to your prayers. He’s invented a self-driving wheelie bin that takes itself to the kerbside on collection day.

The bin, named ‘Smartcan,’ has a metallic base and AI-powered wheels. Homeowners can pair the bin with their smartphone, and set the day and time they want their bin to be taken out on an app they download. To work, the bin needs two docking stations to help it navigate between locations, so you could have one next to your home, and one near where you want the bin to be collected from.

Angry residents of a street in Bradford became so fed up at having rogue wheelie bins left on their road that they emptied them and used them to block off access to it.

Residents of Shirley Road say that they’ve contacted the council several times to come and take them away, but to no avail. They say that bins have been there were several months and they’re an ‘eyesore.’

Once the road was blocked, this finally spurred the council into action, and they came and took the bins away, spilling oil on the road in the process. Council workers put sand on the oil and returned a few days later to clear it up.

A council spokesperson said that the council had removed the bins from Shirley Road at the request of residents, and had also dealt with the spilled oil and sand in a timely manner.

Thousands of families in Cheshire have been told that their bin collection day will change as part of a revamp of services. Cheshire East Council is putting stickers on bins over the weeks ahead to let residents know about the changes.

Each sticker will inform residents that they’ll be receiving a calendar with their new collection dates, and it will also warn them that bins will need to be ready for collection at 6.30am on collection day.

The council said that the planned changes will help make services more efficient and give residents the best value for money.

If you live in the Cheshire East Council area, here are the dates you need to know about:

- Calendars detailing the new collection dates will be sent out on 21^st October

- Changes to waste and recycling collections will take effect from November 4

- There will be no garden waste collections between December 23 and January 3

- A food waste collection service will start from January

A local councillor said that the council is committed to improving recycling and waste services for residents and added that the changes will make bin collections much more efficient.

Residents say they don’t mind the changes, but are concerned that there’ll be some confusion while they’re getting used to the new system.

One man said there have been a handful of changes to services in the last few decades and said that people usually adapt, though the changes can be confusing for some people, especially the elderly. Another resident said that if the council gives people enough notice, it shouldn’t be a problem.

A year after Merton Council introduced a controversial new bin collection service, recycling rates have soared to record levels.

The council said one of the main aims of the new service, which introduced alternate weekly recycling and general waste collections and gave residents new wheelie bins, was to increase the London borough’s recycling rate from 37% to 45% within 12 months.

But the council are delighted that the recycling rate hit the lofty heights of 47% back in May. The councillor for the environment took the opportunity to thank residents who made an effort to reduce the amount of waste they produce and recycle as much as possible.

He added that the changes to the service were the biggest changes in recent times, and that residents are realising the benefits of reducing waste and recycling more.

Council figures recorded from April to August show that food waste recycling in the borough increased by a huge 75% compared to the same time last year. As well as that, there has been a 14% overall reduction in the total amount of waste produced, a whopping 2,887 tonnes less than the same five months last year.

The general waste that is collected is taken to an energy recovery facility in Beddington, where it’s being used to create electricity.