Landmark plans to introduce 'underground super-bins' across Liverpool have been welcomed.
It was reported today that the council plans to launch an 'underground revolution', with the introduction of 'subterranean super-bins' in 140 locations across the city. The local authority is looking to end a rubbish issue for huge swathes of the city by installing the large new underground bins.
The recommendation to begin consultations on introducing underground bins in several wards of the city will go to the council’s Cabinet next Friday, June 24. If it gets the green light the scheme will see these huge bins placed in locations in densely built-up areas, many of which will replace some of the existing temporary communal bins.
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The move has been largely welcomed by local residents, who all agree that a new approach is needed to tackle Liverpool's litter, waste and dumping problems. A recent assessment of 300 sites across the city by Keep Britain Tidy found that Liverpool’s issues were three times the national average.
On Twitter, Deb Nolan: "Such good news. We’ve been looking at bin- lined streets for too long. I hope this works for our city. Well done to all involved." Gary Kilroy: "I've seen them on the continent and it works really well."
Susan Seddon said the new bins are badly needed, she said: "Need this in my street right now. Illegal dumping has been getting worse for years. Glass and cardboard is always in the alleyway."
A number of people who have lived in European countries where similar underground bins are in operation also commented to say the scheme had worked well. Jacq Dodman: "We have them in our rural corner of France, where door to door collection has never been a thing to be honest, they work very well." Ged added: "This is how we had it in Amsterdam. So easy."
The super-bins come in a variety of sizes, the biggest being able to take up to 5,000 litres of waste, the equivalent to a week’s worth of refuse for 20 houses. The uniquely designed smart bins, which are made of steel or reinforced plastic to reduce odours, will issue an alarm when full and will be emptied with a crane lift via a release mechanism in its base. It is estimated the emptying and re-installation process will take less than 10 minutes.
The bins will be fully accessible to those with limited strength, or mobility, some operated with foot pedals, others with ground-level mechanisms. Cleanliness is a priority, so no bins will be operated by hand. The super-bin scheme dovetails with the city council’s £15m alleyways programme which has seen hundreds of acres of inner city land, formerly used as dumping grounds, reclaimed by residents.
Joanne Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, who is also the political lead for Waste Management in the City Region, said: “I want Liverpool to be a zero-waste city and to achieve that we need to be smarter in how we enable people to dispose of what they generate in their homes. These subterranean super-bins are going to make a huge difference to the quality of life for thousands of families across huge swathes of our inner-city neighbourhoods.
“We need to consult with communities on the locations but when installed these bins will have both an immediate and dramatic impact on the cleanliness of our streets and will save the council a huge amount of time and money for many years to come. They are an environmental and economic win-win.”
Councillor Abdul Qadir, Cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Due to Liverpool having so many terraced streets, particularly to the north and east of the city centre, we’ve left thousands of families with the limited option of putting black bin bags on the street or in community bins which are easily accessed.
“This has been a recipe for a litter festival at times which in turn has placed extra pressure on council resources, which is a really inefficient way to handle this. Officers have been tasked to think more creatively to design a solution that gets round the limitations of these terraced streets and these underground smart bins are a great step forward.
"They brilliantly demonstrate how Liverpool can lead the rest of the county in the fight against litter and we already have other councils with similar communities looking to visit us to learn from our programme. We know from our work with Keep Britain Tidy that we need to bring litter levels down across the city and this investment will be a key element enabling people to play their part.”
