Wheelie bin Frequently Asked Questions

Following the successful wheelie bin pilot last year, which resulted in a reduction of household rubbish, cleaner streets and increase in recycling, Redbridge Council has approved the roll out of wheelie bins across the borough.  This new bin will replace the current rubbish sack collection. Please start using the bin as soon as it arrives and place your rubbish sacks in the new wheelie bin. Rubbish must be contained in the wheelie bin in order for our collection team to be able to remove it from your property. 

The move to using wheelie bins is part of the borough’s commitment to helping residents recycle more and reach a recycling rate of 50% across Redbridge.

Privately owned wheelie bins and dustbins (cylindrical style, non-wheeled bins) cannot be emptied as part of the new rubbish collection service. Rubbish will only be collected from Redbridge issued wheelie bins. We want to be fair to all residents, so we want everyone to use the same size container. To achieve our main aim of reducing rubbish and increasing recycling, we need to put a limit on how much non-recycled rubbish people can put out. Also, our collection vehicles may not work properly or safely with other types of bins. 

Please email cleansing.services@redbridge.gov.uk with your details.

During the COVID-19 pandemic we have had to start collections and hour earlier than normal to further reduce staff numbers in depots at any one time – minimising any risk of contact between crew bubbles. Set-off times are already staggered but this will spread them out over a longer period and give crews a head start with work that may take longer if staff are absent.

Please put your bin and recycling boxes on the edge of your property by 6am or the night before your day of collection and take them back in as soon as possible after emptying.

The 6am starts will be in place until COVID-19 restrictions are eased.

1. Wash your hands before putting out your bin and recycling containers.
2. Disinfect the handles of your bin and recycling containers before and after they are emptied.
3. Wash your hands after bringing your bin and recycling containers back in.
   

• If you are self-isolating or feeling unwell, you should put any potentially infected items like used tissues, cleaning cloths or disposable gloves into a separate plastic bag and double bag it.
• Tie bags securely and keep them separate from other waste for 72 hours (3 days) before putting into your external rubbish bin.
• Tissues, cleaning cloths or disposable gloves MUST NOT be placed in recycling boxes.
  

LBR currently spends £18 million per year on the disposal of 22 million rubbish sacks. The introduction of the new 180 litre wheeled bins and a ‘no side waste’ policy, will reduce the amount of rubbish collected and will help to reduce disposal costs. This policy was an essential part of reducing refuse tonnages during the pilot by providing motivation for the residents to recycle more.

Your waste can either be bagged up (black sacks or supermarket carrier bags) or loose in the bin. This is because the bin is lifted onto the back of the vehicle and lifted mechanically, so all the waste falls directly into the hopper, so it does not matter now whether it is bagged or loose.

Your rubbish needs to be totally contained within your bin and the lid fully closed. If you put out extra bag(s) of rubbish beside your bin, our crews will not collect them but will place a sticker on the bag(s). This will explain that we do not take extra rubbish  and that you must put it in your rubbish bin for your next collection.

We will provide an information pack with the delivery of the bin to explain how you should present your rubbish and recycling for collection. We will communicate with residents throughout the roll out to:

• help them understand the importance of keeping all rubbish contained in the bin.
• make the most of their weekly recycling services to ensure they have sufficient space in their wheelie bin. 

No, your collection day will stay the same. There won’t be any changes to your collection day as we roll out the bins between March and May 2021.  However, there may be some changes in future months – but don’t worry, if there are, we’ll let you know as soon as possible. Recycling and rubbish collections will continue to remain weekly.

Yes, you can start using the wheelie bin as soon as you receive it. Your collections will continue to be weekly on the same day and will start the week, after the bins have been delivered. Simply put your new wheelie bin out on your normal collection day.

Your wheelie bin can be kept anywhere within the confines of your property. It must not be kept on the street or another place where it could obstruct pavements or roads.

We are providing you with a 180-litre wheeled bin. Please put your house number on your bin in the space provided so, we know who it belongs to. This will help the crews return it to the right place on collection day. 

Put your bin just inside the boundary of your property, nearest to the road (not on the pavement or street) in a visible and accessible position by 6am or the night before your day of collection. Ensure the lid of your wheelie bin is fully closed. Wheelie bins with open lids will not be emptied and any extra rubbish bags placed next to your wheelie bin will not be collected.

Please use your recycling services to recycle as much of your rubbish as possible. For example, card, paper, glass bottles and jars, cans and plastic bottles can be recycled in your recycling boxes.

Each wheelie bin holds 180 litres or around three black sacks of rubbish – this should be enough for most households that recycle all that they can through the weekly collections.  We do appreciate that 'one size does not fit all' though, and we will provide larger bins where there is a clear need and certain criteria are met e.g., families of 5 or more or those with more than one child in nappies. Larger bins will only be issued to households that are making full use of our recycling collections.  It would be unfair to provide additional rubbish capacity to a household that is not recycling when their neighbours are.  

To request a larger bin you will need to complete our online form. Your request will then be considered, and you will be informed of our decision.  

Your request for a larger bin is being considered and we will let you know the outcome shortly. If you are successful, we will deliver a larger bin and take away your 180-litre bin.  If the request for a larger bin has been made and approved before the scheduled delivery of the new wheelie bins, you will have the requested bin delivered. 

If the request for a larger bin is approved after you have received a bin, we will endeavour to deliver your new replacement wheelie bin as soon as we can.  In the meantime we will ensure the crew are aware that you have requested the larger bin and  they will clear your excess waste until the larger bin arrives. 

In order to manage your waste effectively please recycle as much as possible using your recycling boxes.

Your rubbish needs to be totally contained within your bin and the lid fully closed. If you put out extra bag(s) of rubbish beside your bin, our crews will not collect them but will place a sticker on the bag(s).This will explain that we do not take extra rubbish and that you must put it in your rubbish bin for your next collection,  or you can take it to any of the Reuse and Recycling Centres run by East London Waste Authority (ELWA).

If extra bags are left out next to your bin/bag on more than one occasion, you will receive a letter asking you to make sure that all your rubbish is contained in the bin and in future you could be issued with a fine. 

We do want to be fair to all residents and the reason for not taking extra bags of rubbish is to achieve our main aim of reducing rubbish and increasing recycling. To do this we need to put a limit on how much non-recycled rubbish people can put out for collection.

It is great that you don’t have much rubbish and are recycling all you can. We would prefer you to keep the 180-litre bin we’ve delivered. If you don’t have enough rubbish to put your bin out every week, you could put it out whenever it is full. Smaller 140 litre bins can be requested. 

To request a smaller bin you will need to complete our online form. Your request will then be considered, and you will be informed of our decision.  

We’re here to help. We can provide ‘assisted collections’ for those residents who, on assessment, are unable to use the rubbish and recycling collection service without assistance from the Authority.

To request a ‘assisted collection’ you will need to complete our online form. Your request will then be considered, and you will be informed of our decision.   Please allow 10 working days for a response to your request.

If your property has space, we will provide one, free, dark grey 180 litre wheelie bin to safely store any rubbish that is left after you’ve recycled everything you can. 

Following a Borough-wide assessment of each property’s suitability for storing a wheelie bin, we have identified approximately 1,000 properties that are unsuitable, e g. no front garden or space to accommodate a bin.  

These households will automatically move onto our red sack collection scheme and will be provided with free red sacks (3 per week, which are equivalent to the amount one 180 litre wheelie bin holds) to contain and put their rubbish out for collection. From March 1^st, we will be issuing these sacks with instructions on how to use them.

No, the red sacks are not optional. The Council has carried out Borough-wide assessment of each property’s suitability for storing a wheelie bin. If your property has space, we will provide one, free, dark grey 180 litre wheelie bin to safely store any rubbish that is left after you’ve recycled everything you can. Those properties deemed unsuitable will be moved onto a red sack collection scheme. Unsuitable properties may include those with no front garden or space to accommodate a wheelie bin.  

If your property is not suitable for a bin, we will provide you with free red sacks (3 per week, equivalent to the amount one 180 litre wheelie bin holds) to contain and put out your rubbish for collection. From March 1^st, we will be issuing these sacks with instructions on how to use them.

Up to three sacks will be collected each week, these contain the same amount of rubbish as a new 180 litre wheelie bin. Three sacks of rubbish should be enough for most households that recycle all that they can through the weekly collections. We can provide an additional sack each week where there is a clear need and certain criteria are met e.g. families of 5 or more or those with more than one child in nappies. Email: cleansing.services@redbridge.gov.uk

We have chosen red sacks to make it clear to the crews that this is household waste and avoid any confusion with business waste collections. Businesses have a legal responsibility for their waste and must pay to have it removed by a licensed waste operator. Business waste should not be collected as part of the household collections.

In conservation areas additional regulations are only required for structural changes, such as if you want to modify your property. As wheelie bins are not structural, they do not fall under these regulations, so there isn’t anything preventing properties in conservation areas from having wheelie bins. If residents wish to, they may erect an appropriate bin store for their wheelie bin. Information on what constitutes an appropriate bin store can be sought by contacting Development Control. Email: DPD@redbridge.gov.uk 

We hope, with use, you’ll see the benefits of your new bin.

Thank you for getting in touch to share your thoughts. We’re sorry to hear you don’t like the look of your new bin, however they are the standard design and colour used by all neighbouring councils. 

The move to using wheelie bins is part of the borough’s commitment to helping residents recycle more and reach a recycling rate of 50% across Redbridge. We hope with use you’ll see the benefits of your new bin, even if you haven’t warmed up to their look yet!

All wheelie bins remain the property of the Council. However, whilst you are using the bin, we encourage you to write your house number/address on it – there is a dedicated space provided for this. It's fine if you want to decorate your bin to make it more personal with paint, stickers, bin wraps etc. The only thing we ask is please don’t cover the Redbridge logo (front of the bin) and serial number (on the side of the bin, near the top).

Houses converted into flats and shared houses have been assessed to establish container requirements. These properties will receive new wheelie bins for the collection of rubbish, tailored to the number living in the property and space available. An information pack containing a leaflet and bin sticker will be packed into a polythene envelope and tucked under the lid of your bin, providing you with details on how to use the new rubbish bin and recycling boxes.  

Purpose built flats are not part of the wheelie bin service change. The London Borough of Redbridge has commissioned Keep Britain Tidy to carry out an assessment of their existing waste and recycling provision.  Residents living in flats above shops will, where relevant, be serviced by the red sack collection service. We will be in touch with residents about any planned change.

We provide a weekly recycling service. Simply put your recycling boxes out for collection with the new bin on the same day as normal.  The table below shows what can and cannot be recycled.  By using your weekly recycling service, you can reduce what you need to put in your wheelie bin, this will help ensure you have enough space for your rubbish. 

You can order a new recycling box here

Currently residents in Redbridge can put out an unlimited number of black rubbish sacks every week for collection. This means that there is no incentive for residents to reduce the amount of rubbish they put out or recycle as much as possible using the weekly recycling service.

Redbridge currently disposes of around 22m rubbish sacks each year which costs £18m. We also collect the 5th highest amount of rubbish in England.  Our current recycling rate of 24% is low compared with the national average of approximately 45% because:

• Rubbish disposal figures are so high. Our recycling rate is proportionately lower than it could be if less rubbish was produced overall.
• Participation in our recycling scheme could be significantly higher.

Redbridge needs to address this in order to help contribute to the Mayor of London’s 65% recycling objective for the capital by 2030. Our Waste Reduction Strategy sets out plans for how we will achieve this by reducing rubbish and increasing recycling.

The introduction of 180 litre wheelie bins means that residents are restricted by how much they can throw away. With limited capacity for rubbish, householders will be encouraged to recycle all they can and reduce waste where possible, to ensure they have sufficient space in their wheelie bin.

We are always looking for ways to improve our recycling service, expanding the range of materials we collect is one way of doing this. Redbridge is a collection authority and can only collect items that our waste disposal contractor (the East London Waste Authority (ELWA)) accepts for reprocessing.

Currently, we collect 5 of 6 core materials listed in The Mayor of London’s Environment Strategy (paper, card, glass, metal tins/cans and plastic bottles).We don’t yet collect plastic pots, tubs and trays or separate food waste for recycling due to constraints of the current disposal contract with Renewi via East London Waste Authority (who manage this contract on behalf of Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham, Newham and Havering).

We remain actively engaged in dialogue with ELWA about how we can improve our collection services and recycle more despite the restrictions of the existing contract.

If you have outdoor space, home composting can significantly reduce the amount of rubbish in your wheelie bin.

A wide range of materials ranging from batteries to hard plastics, electricals to ceramics can be taken to Chigwell Road Recycling Centre for reuse and recycling. 

Reducing your waste is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment and will also help you maximise space in your wheelie bin. There are lots of ways to do this, such as thinking differently about:

• Reducing your food waste
• Using Real Nappies instead of disposables
• Composting at home
• Reducing plastic waste
• Reusing and repairing clothing
• Reusing and recycling items at the Reuse and Recycling Centres

Where to get further help and information

Email:  cleansing.services@redbridge.gov.uk

Web: www.redbridge.gov.uk/wheeliebin

Telephone: 0208 554 5000