Bin collection service in plan for overhaul
Collection rounds for binmen in Wolverhampton could be overhauled as part of the latest phase of a £2.8 million scheme to improve the city’s rubbish service.
A detailed project, which will last for up to 10 months, has now been launched by authority officials to check whether the routes currently undertaken could be improved if they were switched around or done at different times.
Bosses are also looking at whether more binmen are needed on certain rounds.
It is part of plans by the city council to make use of the Government grant.
The cash, offered to ensure there will always be weekly bin collections, is also being used to draw up radical plans to encourage more people to recycle which could see householders entering rubbish into raffles for the chance to win prizes. Another option on the table could see binmen handing out school vouchers to every home correctly separating its waste.
Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Tim Clark said the council was using computer models to develop the most efficient routes to pick up bins from around 100,000 homes in the city.
He added: “We are envisaging testing of any proposed alterations will be done in the autumn and it will be towards the end of the year when we are in a position to implement any changes.”
Mr Clark also said that preliminary work has also been started to establish a number of local project groups to look at coming up with ideas for the incentive scheme and it was hoped more information would be available on that aspect of the project by the Spring.
The council faces hefty fines if it increases the amount of rubbish it sends to be incinerated rather than recycling, meaning it has to find ways to improve recycling without taking away weekly collections.
As part of same scheme communal food bins could be introduced at up to 14,000 flats and terraced houses in the city.
Residents will be asked to put food scraps in separate bags away from the rest of their rubbish. They will then be put into shared bins.
The communal skips would have sealed entrance holes to prevent smells and vermin.
It emerged earlier this month that more than 24,000 bins went uncollected in Wolverhampton over the past year because residents put the wrong items out to be recycled. They have been told to remove the offending items before putting their recycling bins back out for collection.