Communal bins - what's going on?

Liberal Democrat Councillors representing North Jesmond have been pressing for answers to questions on the Communal Bins Project.

Cllr Gerry Keating asked why the detailed map which accompanied the guidance has been withdrawn and since there has been considerable evidence in the "successful trial" area of trade dumping and unbagged rubbish, would the Cabinet Member still justify the Council's policy to refuse, expressed in the guidance to clean the bins?

Cllr Catherine Walker asked the Council to provide a list of any amendments to the map which accompanied the guidance and advise when the map will reappear

The distinction in the guidance between "households" and residents" has caused difficulty in the recent Acorn Road consultation. So Cllr Peter Breakey asked the Cabinet Member to clarify the use and meaning of this distinction to the guidance's two stated routes, whereby citizens may oppose the proposals.

In response, the responible Cabinet Member, Labour's Cllr Stephenson said :

The Council's policy has not changed in respect of communal bins. We will consider introducing communal bins in some parts of Newcastle to help tackle problems with littering, fly tipping and abandoned domestic bins in back lanes. The new communal bins would be shared by everyone in the street, replacing the domestic bins currently used by each household.

The council has given a commitment to consult residents fully on the proposals.

Following consultation and engagement with elected members from those wards being considered it was decided that we will not introduce communal bins if more than a third of households in a particular street object. Also, each ward needs to be looked at individually and in more detail considering operational issues and member's local knowledge. For this reason it was decided to withdraw the general map, and replace with a bespoke ward map showing a greater level of detail at an appropriate time in the consultation process.