Stricter bin collection rules are being proposed for Preston.
Households who have a missed bin collection are going to be given two working days to report where there bin hasn’t been picked up.
Preston City Council are preparing to ditch their current policy of no fixed time limit to report a missed bin.
The Town Hall also says they will not be sending crews back for missed collections where the homeowner forgot to put their bin out or didn’t put it in the right position.
Cutbacks will also see the collection of textiles scrapped and anyone with a private road or driveway will need to ensure their bins are at the end of it to be picked up.
A report to the city council’s cabinet says the changes would save the council around £6,000-a-year.
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Council officers write: “Currently there is no official timescale to report a missed bin. Consequently residents can, and do, report missed bins at any point in the collection cycle. Often this means that collection crews are no longer in the locality of the missed bin and lengthy journeys can occur to collect the bin.
“Most nearby authorities operate a system of restricting reports of missed bins to either one or two working days. By restricting the reporting of missed bins to two working days it will still allow a reasonable period for residents to report a missed collection, and reduce fuel costs by avoiding travelling back to the missed bins.”
The report goes on to say around 30 to 40 per cent of missed bin collections are because of residents failing to put their bins out, or being too late.
At present the city council collects around 2.8 tonnes of textiles per year from Preston homes. It says these would be collected or donated to charities instead.
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Around 337 properties would be affected by the change in not going up private driveways to pick up bins.
The proposal will be discussed at the city council’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday 20 June.
What do you think about the bin changes? Will they affect you? Let us know in the comments below