West Berkshire Council plans to remove hundreds of bins to save costs, raising concerns about increased littering and dog fouling in the area.
They’re not touching the street bins or the ones maintained by town and parish councils, so those will stay put. The plan is to keep bins at popular spots like parks and sports fields, but smaller areas will lose their bins.
The council hopes to save around £20,000 a year with this move. Some local councils will have to step in to manage the remaining bins, which means services might vary from one area to another.
They’re worried about more litter and dog mess showing up in parks and rural areas if bins are taken away. Interestingly, they say dog waste isn’t a biohazard anymore, so it can go in regular litter bins or your home bin.
In the long run, they plan to replace the removed bins with larger dual litter bins. They’re also expecting more complaints and a phenomenon called ghost binning, where people leave trash where bins used to be.
If the council gives the green light in February, these changes will roll out later this year after chatting with local councils and their maintenance contractor.
