Plans to spend £350k to change bin lids approved

East Suffolk Council approved plans to change lids on garden bins

Plans to spend £350,000 on changing bin lid colours to avoid confusion have been unanimously approved by a council.

East Suffolk Council met on Tuesday night to discuss changing green garden bin lids to avoid confusion with new bins coming in for paper and card.

Opposition councillor James Mallinder previously described the proposal as "nonsense".

Green councillor and cabinet member for the environment, Sally Noble, said the proposal was the "most financially efficient route".

From next year, households in the district will be given an additional wheelie bin or container for their paper and card recycling.

The new bins will be grey, but with a green lid, and the council worried it could cause confusion with the already green garden bins.

Therefore, the authority wanted to change the green bin lids to brown, affecting 50,000 households that are signed up to the garden waste collection service.

The council argued it would mean East Suffolk would fall in line with the rest of the county, and the money would come from its Better Recycling budget.

The government has also given councils targets to increase recycling rates, and East Suffolk Council must divert 60% of its waste to recycling by 2030 and 65% by 2035.

'Waste of money'

"To replace bins in their entirety would cost £875,000 plus distribution, which would take the overall cost to over £1m," Noble said during the meeting.

"However, replacement lids costing around £350,000 to purchase and install are a far cheaper and far more environmentally friendly option and will ensure that we have the consistency across Suffolk that we need."

Leader of the East Suffolk Conservative group, Mark Jepson, questioned whether placing stickers with guidance on the bins would have been a cheaper option for the council.

Labour's Peter Byatt echoed Jepson's thoughts and added: "I consider it a complete waste of money."

However, the councillors were told there would be distribution costs with stickers, and it would not be practical.