Removal of 'underused' Cambridge bins criticised

Cambridge City Council said it had removed a small number of public bins as part of a trial

Taking away public bins in an historic city could prove a "dangerous" move when its cleanliness should be a "top priority", a councillor said.

Cambridge City Council said it had removed a "small number of underused bins" in the city, as part of a trial aimed at making sure they were "in the right place, are the right size and are emptied at the right frequency".

Tim Bick, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the Labour-led council, said keeping public spaces clean and tidy was "what people have a local council for".

However, the authority said no final decisions would be made "without clear evidence that bin provision will remain sufficient to keep our city clean and tidy".

Bick, who represents Market ward in Cambridge, said taking away even infrequently used bins would mean "other ones are going to get fuller quicker or people may just drop the rubbish".

"I think it's pretty dangerous, because if we're concerned about the cleanliness of the streets that people spend time in – shopping in, having coffee in – it's difficult to see that it's going to improve matters, and some people think they're not clean already," he said.

He added that all councils were "in a tight place financially", but the issue was "what the priority is".

The city council's Liberal Democrat leader Tim Bick said keeping Cambridge tidy was "what people have a local council for"

The council said its aim was to "improve the appearance of public spaces" and "make collections more efficient and environmentally sustainable".

"In trial areas, we have removed a small number of underused bins and reallocated resources to where they are needed most," a spokesperson said.

"This has reduced unnecessary collection trips, cut fuel use and carbon emissions, and allowed staff time to be redirected to other public realm priorities like street cleansing and grounds maintenance."

The spokesperson added that the authority had noted "growing concerns" around rubbish at some of the "high-profile and much visited areas in the historic city centre".

It hoped to address this by "increasing capacity in some cases" where bins were overflowing and littering was most prevalent.

The exact number of bins that have been removed or moved has yet to be disclosed.