Wheelie Bin News Roundup 27th May

Wheelie Bin News Roundup 27^th May

Police have made two thieves who were caught red-handed stealing a wheelie bin take part in a charity car wash. Officers on patrol in Newcastle saw the man and woman pushing a wheelie bin over a motorway overpass. When the police questioned them, they admitted stealing the bin because theirs had gone missing. The officers took the bin back to its owner, and took the thieves to the police station. The police did not press charges on one condition: that they take part in a charity car wash at a local fire station. The car wash was raising funds for the Firefighters Charity.

A police spokesperson said that wheelie bin theft is an annoyance for many residents, and added that the force wants to show that it will take action against offenders. The police have urged anyone who witnesses wheelie bin crime to call their non-emergency line on 101.

A grandmother was left ‘flabbergasted’ when she tried to hand in an eight-inch knife she found while she was out litter picking only to be told by police to go home and put it in her wheelie bin! When she told them she was concerned it might have been used in a crime, she was told that was ‘irrelevant’! The woman found the knife while she was on a litter pick with other volunteers in Thornaby, North Yorkshire. As she picked litter from underneath some bushes, she spotted the knife. She took it to a newly-opened local police station but she was told there were no officers present. She then called 101 where she was told to either take it to another station or put it in her wheelie bin at home! The woman said she couldn’t believe it and said she had no idea how to dispose of it safely. Cleveland Police said that it doesn’t accept and record found property except in cases where the finder is not permitted to keep it.

Solar-powered ‘belly bins’ in Nottingham City Centre are set to be replaced with dozens of stainless steel bins after a number of complaints about over-flowing bins, and people leaving rubbish beside the bins because they didn’t want to touch the handle. The rollout of the new bins is expected to take four years and will cost £320,000. There are currently 170 belly bins and the council will replace around 40 of the bins per year, starting in the city centre before starting on other areas. The new bins will be available in two sizes and will be designed to fit wheelie bins inside them so workers won’t have to empty them as often. In a report on the current bins, the council said that they are no longer useful and have begun to look increasingly unsightly. The report also stated that the bins have been left overflowing and people have been stubbing out cigarettes on them which has made them look shabby.