A Derbyshire council is spending thousands of pounds extra on bins after an initial batch proved widely faulted and frequently broke, alongside rising costs of plastic.
Amber Valley Borough Council had budgeted to spend £114,000 on replacing general waste and recycling bins for thousands of residents – including bins for newly-built homes – over the current financial year (2022/2023).
However, it says the cost of buying bins from private manufacturers has increased by more than 30 per cent and that a batch had proved widely deficient.
Alongside this, it says residents have been complaining about waste collection staff employed by Amber Valley Norse – a company the council co-owns through Norfolk County Council – allegedly damaging or losing their bins.
Cameras attached to bin lorries are set to be used to track down incidents in which bins have allegedly been damaged or lost.
The council says that due to rising costs associated with the increasing number of homes and required new bins the authority is considering charging developers for the bins.
As a result of rising costs, officials are seeking council permission to spend an additional £130,000 extra on new general waste and recycling bins over the rest of the current financial year (2022/2023).
This would take the combined new total to £244,000 and with new green waste bins (£57,300) this totals £301,300 for the year.
A council report to be debated next week says: “Since October 2021 there have been several price increases by waste container manufacturers leading to over a 30% price increase on the waste containers used by the council for both household and commercial waste collections.
“Bin manufacturers have warned of continuing future price increases due to an increase in the cost of energy and material shortages.”
On the issue of bins breaking more frequently than planned, the authority writes: “A proportion of the waste containers that need to be replaced are as a result of natural wear and tear.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be a higher than anticipated failure rate of the bins that were initially purchased when the council moved from collecting recycling in boxes and bags to the use of an additional wheelie bin and caddy.
“As a consequence, the council specifies thicker, more durable bins, which whilst having an initial higher unit cost, are anticipated to have a much longer shelf life and be far more likely to be capable of repair in future.”
The council says that around 500 new homes are built in the borough each year and each requires two bins and a caddy.
It also writes: “Officers have received some complaints from residents that their caddy has been either damaged or lost by Norse waste collection operatives.
“With the impending introduction of new in-cab technology, it will be possible for officers to remotely view the cameras which are mounted on the waste vehicles, and where evidence of mishandling is found, there is a mechanism to recharge Amber Valley Norse for the containers.”
