Call for 'bin influencers' to help with changes

Worcester City Council hopes neighbours will be able to help others with the new collection rules

A council is hoping that “bin influencers” will come to the rescue when changes to rubbish collections come into effect.

Household waste and recycling collections are due to be standardised across Worcester from 29 July in an attempt to make them more efficient.

It means everyone who lives in the city will be putting out the same type of waste at the same time.

During a recent meeting, members of Worcester City Council discussed concerns about whether the changes would lead to some people putting out the wrong bins.

Sandra Green, head of city services, said many areas would be impacted but that information would be sent out via leaflets and social media.

She said resilience crews would liaise with residents who do put the wrong bins out but she also hoped neighbours would help out.

“We’re hoping we’ve got quite a few of our bin influencers out there who’ll get the right bin out at the right time, so people know what bin is to go out,” she said during the meeting on Tuesday.

Councillor Richard Udal said he and many people who live on his street relied on a 90-year-old neighbour to know which bin to put out.

“She puts out the bin first and we all follow suit – and hopefully she’s got it right. She normally does,” he said.

He also raised concerns over the timing of the changes, with many people going away for the summer holidays.

Members were told that there was no ideal time to implement the changes and doing it later in the year, when it gets darker earlier, would make it more difficult for people to see their neighbours' bins.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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