Residents fume at council’s ‘ridiculous’ 11 bins for waste and recycling

A council in Wales has been criticised for its “ridiculous” bin collection process after residents were asked to separate their waste between up to 11 containers.

While Denbighshire County Council prides itself on achieving some of the highest recycling rates in the UK, residents have criticised the local authority for enforcing a strict bin collection process with numerous different vestibules.

In an average week, most Denbighshire households put out an orange food waste caddy, a blue hessian sack for cardboard, and a Trolibocs - a set of three bins stacked on top of each other to form one container. Once every four weeks, residents must put out an additional residual waste bin.

The council also offers a range of containers for optional services, such as a green wheelie bin for garden waste, white single-use bags for textiles, a pink clip-on holder for batteries, and a black caddy for absorbent hygiene products. Residents who want to get rid of small electrical items can also place them on top of the Trolibocs.

Now, at least 4,500 households have also been asked to trial separating out soft plastics from their waste – adding a new bin to their waste collection routine.

One Denbighshire resident, who didn’t want to be named, told The Independent that the process was “ridiculous” as he currently had six bins with a seventh incoming for the new trial. He said he currently had bins for food waste, household waste, tins and plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard.

“It’s really annoying,” he said: “We used to have two bins collected bi-weekly, now our main bins are collected weekly and in Rhyl there has been a massive increase in rodent activity,”

“It’s just an absolute joke,” he added: “I don’t want anymore bins.”

Linda Muraca, who lives in the area, told The Times: “Putting your bins out has become a full-time job and especially in the fourth week when they all go out. You should see the state of our roads once the refuse collectors have been. Rubbish is often all over the place.”

Denbighshire council denied claims in some media reports that residents were required to put out 12 bins, due to a number of the services being optional. They also denied that the Trolibocs counted as multiple bins, claiming it was presented to residents as one container with separate compartments, allowing different recyclable materials to be collected efficiently.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Denbighshire is proud to be working alongside residents to achieve some of the highest recycling rates in the UK. We recognise that any change to collection services can take time to adapt to, and we will continue to work with residents to ensure the service remains effective, practical and easy to use.

“Residents deserve an accurate representation of the service they use every week. The reality is that households are not putting out 12 bins for collection. They are typically putting out three containers each week, with a fourth container once every four weeks. Any suggestion otherwise presents a distorted picture of how the service actually operates and the significant recycling success being achieved across the county.

“The soft plastics trial is currently running with a small number of households in the county and will continue until early December. The overall reception from residents has been positive, reflected in both their feedback and participation in the trial. The trial builds on the established recycling service and is helping the council prepare for forthcoming Welsh Government changes to recycling requirements that will apply to all local authorities in Wales.”