Black and Blue All Over! Ealing's Wheelie Bins Revealed

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Council shows off controversial new bins arriving in May

Ealing Council were given a battering over plans to introduce wheelie bins which seems to have affected their choice of colours.

Over 7,000 people signed a petition against the waste collection changes and there has been much opposition, but the council has pressed ahead, and today revealed that the new bins will be black and blue.

Households will receive a blue wheelie bin for their mixed recycling and a black wheelie bin for their rubbish. They will be collected on alternate weeks with recycling picked up one week and rubbish on the other. Residents will keep their green food waste bin and this will continue to be collected every week. 

The blue colour of the recycling bin was chosen to match recycling bins already in use in west London and the black refuse bins are already in use in Southall and some other households across the borough.

Southall residents already use a black wheelie bin for their rubbish. They will keep these and receive an additional blue one for their mixed recycling. Everyone else moving to the new wheelie bin collection system will take delivery of two bins. Wheelie bins will start to be delivered in May.

The new wheelie bins are 240 litres in capacity and are 110cm high, 58cm wide and 74cm deep. They hold roughly the equivalent of four to five full black refuse sacks or five full green boxes. Residents that produce small amounts of rubbish may opt to share with a neighbour or request a smaller black rubbish bin.

Reasonable amounts of extra recycling left beside blue wheelie bins will be collected, however, extra rubbish sacks left on top or at the side of wheelie bins will not be collected.

Residents that are physically unable to move the new bins will be able to request an assisted collection. Those that already have an assisted collection will continue to receive this extra help when the service changes.

The council will be writing to affected households next month to tell them more about how the improved service works, how they can request a smaller bin, how to request an assisted collection and when the service will start. Flats that use communal recycling and refuse facilities as well as those who live on red routes will not be affected by the change.

Councillor Mahfouz said: “Wheelie bins will make a positive difference to the local area. We expect them to dramatically reduce the amount of litter on our streets from black bags ripped open by foxes and recycling blown away from open containers. They will also make recycling easier, because of us sorting the recycling, instead of residents doing so.  The system has also proven to boost recycling in neighbouring boroughs where it has been introduced and help us achieve our 50% target.

“We are going to make it as easy as possible for people to move to this improved system which is why we are writing to everyone affected next month with all of the information they need to make the change. We will also be using Facebook, Twitter, our resident’s magazine and local media to keep residents up to speed with the switch to wheelies and alternate weekly collections.”

13th January 2016