Diamond lift bins have a large lip on the front, meaning they can be lifted by equipment developed by Terberg Matec UK.
However, the council says the comb lift mechanism is used elsewhere in the region. The council wants all its collection vehicles to be able to empty any bin in Aberdeenshire.
Andrew Sheridan, team manager for Aberdeenshire council’s collections and cleansing department, also said the old bins were 15 years old and at the end of their “guaranteed lifespan”.
“We are the only local authority in Scotland still using diamond lift bins,” he added. “Sourcing replacements is proving increasingly difficult and they are far more expensive – almost twice the price of the industry standard comb lift bins.
“The change will mean that all of our household waste and recycling bins will be standard comb bins, meaning all our collection vehicles will be compatible to empty any bin anywhere in Aberdeenshire, therefore allowing for efficiencies in vehicle usage and routing.”
Environmental container manufacturer IPL UK will supply the bins with the comb lift mechanism, which will be distributed by Jett Distribution.
Aberdeenshire told letsrecycle.com it could not disclose “commercially sensitive information” such as the cost of the new bins, “as we are under contract”. A spokesperson said they had procured the bins using the Scotland Excel framework.
Diamond lift bins
Aberdeenshire will replace bins in Marr between 29 August and the end of November and in Kincardine and Mearns between 21 November and the beginning of March 2023.
We are the only local authority in Scotland still using diamond lift bins
- Andrew Sheridan, Aberdeenshire council
The council is to issue letters to householders informing them that the replacement is being arranged to match their existing collection days, to minimise disruption.
Jett Distribution may deliver the new bins before the old ones are emptied and removed, the council says, so householders have been told to leave their old bin out until it is collected by a separate crew.
Once in possession of them, residents can use the new bins, which are the same size as the old 240l ones, immediately.
The old bins will be broken down, the council says, with the wheels and axles reused and the main plastic body ground down and used in the manufacture of new wheeled bins.
Aberdeenshire
Representing an estimated population of more than 260,000, Aberdeenshire council had a household waste recycling rate of 40.8%
This represents a fall from the council’s 44% recycling rate in 2019. The spokesperson attributed the decline to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of household waste recycling centres for three months.
The council’s in-house team currently collects waste fortnightly, with a grey bin for residual waste and a blue-lidded bin for paper, card, tins, cans and plastic.
Aberdeenshire recently agreed a shift to a three-weekly collection cycle from spring 2023, which will see residual waste, mixed recycling and paper, card and cardboard collected separately, alongside food waste (see letsrecycle.com story).
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