New, bigger litter bins installed across Plymouth

Over 400 new, bigger litter bins have been installed across the city as part of a comprehensive review of what bins are where, their size and condition.

Larger multi-use bins have appeared in parks, on streets and playing fields over the past few months as part of the Council’s plan to keep the city cleaner and greener.

The bigger bins can also be used for bagged dog waste, which makes it easier to collect and more cost-effective as a separate round won’t be needed. There are signs on all the new bins indicating they are for both litter and dog waste.

The project has involved making sure that bins in over 600 locations – and that doesn’t include the city centre, the Hoe and Barbican – have an individual reference number and an assigned collection regime.

Once the reference numbers are marked on the bins, the public will be able to report the exact location of a bin – either online or by phoning 668000 if they spot a bin that needs emptying.

The project also includes installing dual recycle-and-go bins at 18 shopping centres and areas where more people pass through so that the public can recycle when they are out and about. This includes Wolseley Road, Ebrington Street, St Budeaux shops and Coy Pool car park.

Councillor Michael Leaves, Cabinet Member Streetscene and Environment said: “Making sure our streets and public areas are clean is something that’s hugely important to us and our residents

“This has been a huge task on top of the day job for our teams, but we knew that this was an area that needed looking at as some of the bins were looking pretty tired and not up to the job. Our parks are very popular with dog walkers and despite emptying bins several time a day in some cases, they fill up pretty quickly.

“The new bins are much bigger, almost twice the capacity of older bins and will help reduce the problem of getting too full, leading to litter dropping out.

“We’re keen to keep all our ward councillors involved as they have a lot of local knowledge and will be giving them the reference details for the bins in their area, so they can help us make this a success.

Some of the bins that are less used will also have sensors that will detect when the bins are full so that a team can be sent to empty it.

Councillor Leaves added: “We have some bins which are in more isolated spots and do not need emptying quite as often. These sensors will let us know when they are full, so we can get a crew down there to empty the bin."
Council Leader Ian Bowyer added: “I’m really grateful for residents’ patience and cooperation whilst the new bins have been installed. Staff have worked hard to minimise the disruption but I’m sure the wait has been worthwhile.”