'We don't have space for four wheelie bins' declare angry residents as they petition for Milton Keynes Council to change plans

A town in MK has launched a petition urging the council to rethink its wheelie bin plans.

Residents in Wolverton, where many of the Victorian terraced houses face directly onto the street, say they simply do not have enough room for four large new bins.

MK City Council plans shortly to scrap the current black bag scheme and is spending millions of pounds to issue 300,000 wheelie bins to people all over the city instead.

Each household will have four – a green-lidded bin for food and garden waste, a blue-lidded one for plastic, metals and glass, a red-lidded one for paper and card, and a bin with a grey lid for residual waste.

A new contractor called SUEZ recycling and recovery UK will take over the waste collection contract from Serco and collect all the bins.

Wolverton residents fear the plethora of bins will cause chaos on collection days in their narrow streets.

“We are asking the council to rethink the plan to switch rubbish collection to four large bins per household in the areas of Milton Keynes that have Victorian terraces and similar streets,” states the petition.

“We want a general alternative for these areas, not one that depends on individuals requesting an alternative, as the bins will cause general problems on our streets.

It adds: “There is inadequate space, or no space at all, for bins in front gardens or on pavements because of the nature of the Victorian terraces.“Pavements may well be rendered impassable or very problematic for pedestrians, especially the disabled, elderly and carers of babies/young children.”

Residents also fear householders who are disabled or elderly will struggle to manage so many large bins.

Finally, they say, the plastic structures will be “an extreme visual detriment” to the town’s conservation and heritage areas.

Campaigners are now urging other people living in similar streets to sign the petition, which is on the 38 Degrees site.

Some residents in New Bradwell, which was picked as a trial area for the new bins last year, have also expressed identical concerns.

There, some families who did not have room for the bins have been given coloured crates for recycling instead. Others say their request for this alternative has been refused.

"Our street, St Mary Street, has had the new bins for over a year now. This has actually caused more litter,” said one resident.

"Bins now line the streets as many struggle to house them. We’ve requested the red and blue crates for recycling but been told our property has access to our garden. The council fails to acknowledge that we don’t have room for four bins and have to go through two other people’s gardens and up a poorly pathed area.”

Ruling Labour and Lib Dem alliance councillors say a public consultation exercise showed three out of four people in MK wanted wheelie bins. They will be cleaner, with no risks of black bags splitting, and more environmentally friendly, they believe.

But one resident said: “We may have said yes to a wheelie bin instead of sacks – but we didn’t expect to have four of the blasted things to wheel in and out all the time. It just seems crazy to me.”