A new communal bin scheme is to be introduced to homes in parts of Newcastle’s West End in an effort to reduce the dumping of illegal waste in the area’s back streets.

Newcastle City Council has announced that, from December, residents of the High Cross area of Benwell will see their individual domestic green waste and blue recycling bins replaced by communal bins.

During the first stage of the scheme, over 300 bins will be introduced across 10 back lanes. The scheme has been developed to tackle the issue of littering, waste and fly-tipping in back lanes and streets of the city, which the council says is a big problem, particularly in the West End.

The council hopes that the communal bins will improve the appearance of the streets as, currently, bins are often left out after collection.

Residents say that litter in the area’s back lanes is caused by people rummaging through wheelie bins and bin bags, leaving household waste scattered across the street. Thefts of bins has also been reported. To combat this, the communal bins will be fixed in place with locked lids.

According to the council, the bins will provide the same amount of room as the previous domestic units, but will address the methods of storing the waste between collections to try to reduce the amount of litter being thrown onto the streets.

Groups of three bins – for residual waste, mixed recycling and a separate blue bin for glass – will be positioned together, with waste and recycling being collected on an alternate weekly basis. To address the risks associated with more public access and back street location, metal bins have been used to lessen the impact of potential arson attacks.

Wheelie bins currently used by each household in the area will be collected by council operatives and used in other areas of the city.

Roll out of the scheme follows successful pilot programmes in areas of Sandyford and Heaton Terrace. The council reports that 85 per cent of residents questioned about he pilot schemes said that the conditions of their back lanes improved following the introduction of the new bins.

A second phase of implementation, which will see communal bins provided to homes in areas of Elswick is planned for the new year.

Long-term impact of bins expected

Speaking about the new scheme, Councillor Nick Kemp, the council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services, said: “In the long term these new communal bins will ease the problem of multiple bins being present in back lanes across the city. The results from the pilot scheme speak for themselves.”

Resident Mac Chowdhury, 55, a letting agent from High Cross, supports the new system. He said: “The issues of bins and litter are currently a massive problem in the area. You never know from week-to-week if your bin will vanish or be stolen when you put it out for collection.

“The communal bins will resolve this and hopefully stop people throwing excess rubbish onto the streets. Residents just want to live in a place where it is clean and tidy, and anything that can achieve this will be welcomed.”

You can find out more about the communal bin scheme on Newcastle City Council’s website.