Communal Bins Bombshell

Residents have reacted angrily to plans by Newcastle City Council to introduce a communal bin regime in Gosforth, following similar decisions elsewhere in the city. The Council says this is part of a plan to remove 13,000 bins across the city and to save money on the collections.

West Gosforth Liberal Democrat Councillor Nick Cott said: "There will be real concerns about the effectiveness of the collections. Where communal bins have already been introduced, in parts of Heaton, our Liberal Democrat colleagues report lack of sufficient capacity and examples of overflowing bins. It is also possible that recycling will be discouraged. It is all very well the Council looking at saving money, but unless it has an effective operation the scheme could prove problematic."

"A petition from householders in the Wingrove area was presented to council last week" said Councillor Dominic Raymont who represents East Gosforth Ward. "This illustrates the concerns of residents city-wide.

Commercial-sized waste bins will be placed in back lanes at a distance of one every fourth household. There will be three bins: one each for normal and recycled waste, to be collected once a fortnight, plus another for glass with collections every three weeks.

"Basically if you have a back lane then the chances are you are included in the scheme," said Councillor Raymont. "So we do not expect this will limited to a few streets, it will doubtless affect householders all over the city."

Councillor Cott continued, "We have seen a number of examples of the lack of consultation with residents in Gosforth by this council in recent years. To ensure our residents are aware of this from the start we have initiated a petition for people to express their opposition."

Sign our petition here:

newcastle-libdems.org.uk/en/petition/no-to-communal-bins-petition