‘I could barely get a day's worth of stuff in it': Concerns raised over reduction of bin sizes in Co Antrim council

Belfast Telegraph

4 days ago

Concerns have been raised by Co Antrim residents over a planned reduction in the size of black bins in the local council area.
The change to bin arrangements in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Council area will see traditional black bins replaced with smaller versions.
It is being billed by officials as a way to assist and actively encourage households to take part in recycling.
However the move has sparked frustration among local households, who feel as if they have been left in the dark ahead of the roll out of the scheme in September.
One resident of the area – Laura Moreland – said: 'We were supposed to be told three months ago, but were only informed this week.'
'Most of Newtownabbey voted for it, so Antrim has to get it too.'
Laura added: 'Ballymena had those smaller bins, and now they are getting their old ones back.
'My bin would be full all the time. If I had any more rubbish, I would have to take it to the skip myself.
'I could barely get a day's worth of stuff in it. They [the reduced bins] are the size of boxes.'
As part of the change, Antrim and Newtownabbey Council is holding 20 drop-in information sessions across Antrim, Crumlin, Randalstown, Templepatrick, and Toome, starting Monday, 4th August.
The council said these are to enable residents to drop in and speak to council staff about the new scheme and to allay any concerns or queries they may have.
The new wheelie box recycling scheme is being rolled out in September.
A spokesperson for the Antrim and Newtownabbey Council said: 'With the increased collection of recyclable materials through the new scheme, households should notice a significant decrease in the waste they are throwing into the black bin.
'Council Waste Officers are also happy to assist any resident with their queries or concerns, including offering a house visit. Residents can contact the Council to ask for additional support as required.'
'The Council has adopted a policy that supports households that require additional capacity, for example, requests for additional bins will be considered for larger households or households with medical waste or nappies,' added the council.
'Approved residents will receive two 180L black bins to accommodate additional capacity requests made through application to Council. All households can also purchase additional recycling or organic bins to assist with any additional recyclable or compostable waste they may produce.'
The council spokesperson also added that this change is necessary to meet their 'ambitious waste recycling targets (70% by 2035) set out in the Climate Action Bill for Northern Ireland'.
'The Council is rolling out an increased capacity of 180 L, weekly collections for recyclable materials to all households in the legacy Antrim area,' they added.
News Catch Up - Friday 1st August
'The weekly collections, combined with the size of the container and increased opportunity to recycle materials that currently cannot be recycled in the blue co-mingled recycling bin, means households will be able to recycle even more materials and will generate less non-recyclable waste.
'Instead of reducing the frequency of black bin collections, the Council will be introducing new streamlined bins on a continued fortnightly collection.
'The change is also following Government policy direction to collect recyclable materials separately, so that we can maintain a high recycling quality and ensure that over 75% of our materials can be recycled locally, boosting the Northern Ireland Economy.'