Councillors made the decision in December 2015 to pilot the use of bins as they believe it will make it easier for residents to recycle – and could be rolled out more widely across the borough.
The 240 litre bins are being delivered to householders in the trial area this week, and will allow residents to present paper and cardboard, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, cans and tins, food and drink cartons, and glass bottles and jars for collection.
A spokesperson for the council said that the trial will inform a wider waste strategy and, “if successful, the bins will be administered across the borough, where appropriate.”
Advantages
Lambeth cabinet member for environment and sustainability, councillor Jennifer Brathwaite, said: “Recycling is so important and we want to make it as simple as possible.
“Not only does recycling benefit the environment and cut down on waste, it helps us save money in these tough financial times. The cost of disposing of rubbish in black bins is almost six times as much as recycling it.”
The council hopes that the new bins will increase participation from households as they are bigger in size than the regular black bins, “reflecting the fact that there’s no reason we couldn’t be recycling the majority of our waste.”
As well as the increased size, it is believed that residents will favour the security offered by wheeled bins as secure lids will help to prevent foxes and other wildlife spreading rubbish through streets.
Waste system
In addition to the weekly collection of mixed recyclables, households also receive a kerbside service including collections of residual waste, via a 140 litre wheeled bin, both of which are collected weekly. Residents can also have garden waste collected, but must pay £5 for a 60 litre green bag for collections, while houses are provided with a caddy for food waste.
Once the recycling is collected from the households by contractor Veolia, it is taken to the Wandsworth Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) operated by the Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) for sorting. The WRWA is the statutory waste disposal authority for four London councils – Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth.
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