Conservative councillors have raised concerns over the removal of sixteen litter bins from Bath city centre.
The cut in the number of bins comes as the Council continues its programme of installing new solar powered waste bins in the city, as noted in our story yesterday.
The Liberal Democrat-run authority is removing a total of 71 standard waste bins from the city centre and is instead replacing them with just 55 of the new ‘solar powered’ bins.
Conservative councillors have said they support the introduction of the new solar powered bins, but have warned that the reduction in number could result in an increase in the amount of litter on Bath’s streets.
The new solar-powered bins are able to hold a significant amount more waste before needing to be emptied by using solar technology to compact the waste. However, Conservatives have warned that the number of bins is just as important as how much they can hold in reducing street litter.
Conservative Shadow Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Cllr Geoff Ward, said: “Reducing the number of bins in the centre of Bath seems a retrograde step in the drive to tackle street litter. The new solar-powered waste bins are a welcome innovation, but to put back a much lower number than have been removed is not the right approach.
“The reality is that fewer bins result in more litter. The new bins may be able to hold a lot more litter before needing to be emptied, but the unfortunate fact is that if people can’t find a litter bin nearby then it is more likely to end up on the floor.”
City centre councillor Brian Webber (Cons, Abbey) added: “I receive frequent calls from residents for more litter bins to be installed, not less. We therefore hope that the Council reviews the number of new bins it is planning to introduce with a view to increasing them.”
