The lid has been specifically made for Derbyshire Dales district council. It features the size of the bin written in Braille on the top and two deep notches on each side of the leading edge of the lid.
”Blind and visually impaired people make up a significant proportion of the UK population and their ability to contribute to recycling schemes is extremely important“
– Ian Bellamy, business manager for MGB
The lids are to be fitted to all the council's garden waste bins, they will then help residents differentiate between their non-recyclable and garden waste bins. The municipal waste bin will not include Braille or notches.
Keith Hollinshead, waste management and recycling officer for Derbyshire Dales, said: “During our consultations with local groups, it became apparent that the new twin bin system could be confusing for the blind and visually impaired. We wanted to make the system accessible to all residents and so we asked MGB to come up with a solution. We are very pleased with their idea.”
New scheme
Derbyshire Dales is due to replace its black sack collection scheme with the two wheeled bin scheme this year. According to the council, although the 240 litre green waste bin is slightly wider than the 140 litre waste bin, it is very difficult for visually impaired residents to tell them apart.
The new bins will be rolled out to around 90% of the council's 69,700 population, this month. Both bins will be grey with the garden waste bin being given a green lid.
Significant impact
The council expects the new scheme to have a significant impact on its recycling rate. The council currently collects garden waste once a month at four locations which accounts for about 300 of its 5,500 tonnes of recyclate collected per annum. Other recyclables are collected fortnightly in the council's blue box collection scheme.
Ian Bellamy, business manager for MGB, said: “We believe that this bin lid will become increasingly popular as more local authorities introduce extra wheeled bins for recycling.
“Blind and visually impaired people make up a significant proportion of the UK population and their ability to contribute to recycling schemes is extremely important,” he added.
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