Quarter of bins to be scrapped by council

The authority said it currently has to empty 500 bins

A Leicestershire council has announced it will be removing a quarter of its litter and dog waste bins in a bid to "maximise efficiency".

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council said it currently had 500 bins, requiring a total of 1,350 individual visits per week.

The Liberal Democrat-run authority said by reducing the overall number, it could prioritise the most-used bins and empty them regularly.

A petition has been set up by the Conservative group on the council in opposition to the plan.

Neil O'Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough, said the move would mean more litter and overflowing bins.

'Wise spending'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority said the current service had become “increasingly unsustainable” over the past decade, primarily due to financial pressures and reduced staffing.

Council leader Samia Haq said: "We are committed to spending money wisely, and this is made all the more important by the severe financial pressure we, and other councils across the country, are currently under.

"Careful consideration has been given to the locations where bins will be removed.

"Routes will also become more efficient, and the team will now have better capacity to monitor the areas where bins fill up regularly and make extra collections when needed.

"We’re always looking for ways to improve our services, and rather than spreading ourselves too thinly, this change will allow us to be more targeted and efficient in our litter bin collections, something that we know residents want from us."