Could wheelie bins finally stop the rat problem in Milton Keynes?
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When MK Council’s waste contract comes to an end in 2023, all households will make the switch from plastic sacks to wheeled bins.
Each homes will have four different wheelie bins with different coloured lids and it will mark the end of plastic sacks.
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A spokesman for the Labour and Lib Dem Progressive Alliance said: “The roll out of wheelie bins is just one way the council is tackling rats, as residents will no longer use plastic sacks that can split easily, with the spillage attracting vermin.”
They say wheelie bins will make the city “cleaner, greener, and safer”.
Alongside their already-existing green bins which will be collected weekly, residents will use a grey-lidded bin for residual waste, which will continue to be collected weekly.
There will be blue-lidded bins for plastic, metal, and glass which will be collected bi-weekly, and red-lidded bins for paper and card – to be collected bi-weekly
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Labour Councillor Lauren Townsend, Cabinet member for Public Realm, said: “Wheelie bins will be hugely beneficial to Milton Keynes and residents are overwhelmingly in support of them following the consultation and trial - four out of five households said they wanted to make the switch.”
She added: “It is important that residents know they will have their smelly waste, such as residual, food and garden waste, collected weekly and there’ll be a recycling collection every single week. Weekly collections are here to stay.”
As well as the wheelie bins, the Labour/Liberal Democrat-ran Council has also installed 75 dual bins and 20 smart bins throughout the city, and new litter wardens have been taking a zero-tolerance approach to offenders.
All this could help reduce the rat population, they say.
Rats prove a constant problem in many areas of the borough and residents have previously complained about “super rats” that appear to be immune to popular rat poisons.
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Cllr Alex Walker, Leader of the Conservatives, said: "Under Labour and the Lib Dems, rats have had a free reign and become a huge problem in the city. Throwing wheelie bins at the issue won't deal with it, especially as it means scrapping weekly recycling collections, only a dedicated pest control team would.