'I paid for new bins and neighbours got them free'

Jeni Clark believes the situation is unfair

A woman who paid for two new wheelie bins after becoming frustrated by rubbish blowing around her street is calling for a refund after fellow residents were later given extra bins for free.

Like many residents of north Lancashire, Jeni Clark felt the council-issued recycling boxes were unfit for purpose so took matters into her own hands.

At a cost of £56 for the pair, she took delivery of the new bins last year but was left "shocked" when she saw bins recently being delivered to her neighbours for free.

And when she confronted the delivery driver and asked if she could have extra free bins of her own, he told her she was ineligible.

Lancaster City Council said it had been unable to provide free bins in the past due to financial constraints but was now doing so as part of a transition to new waste collections in 2026.

Lancaster City Council charged almost £60 for delivery of the two bins

The council said it had for many years had feedback about the existing recycling boxes not being fit for purpose, and to meet public demand it "offered residents the option to order bins individually, with a standard delivery fee applied".

This is how Ms Clark, who lives in Over Kellett, acquired her bins, but she said it was not made clear at the time that the fee she was paying was for that.

She said: "It's a couple of miles up the road, it would have taken me five minutes in the car, I would have offered to pick them up myself - it makes me feel like an idiot for not waiting."

Ms Clark is now asking the council for either a refund or for two new free bins.

However, council leader Caroline Jackson said the cost of giving new bins to people like Ms Clark, who already have then, would be "adding an extra £400,000 to our bill".

In terms of offering her a refund, she said: "We looked at that and said we would really like to do that but again we are defeated by the cost."

The Green Party councillor went on to say she wanted to thank residents who had already paid for bins for "being early adopters and helping to keep the streets clean and tidy".

But Ms Clark remained unimpressed.

She said: "If everyone's had a free bin, then everyone should have one or a refund.

"I just feel it's not right, and the Green Party of all people should be rewarding me, not penalising me."