Multi-wheeled bins introduced in recycling trial

A trial of wheelie bins with extra wheels has begun in an attempt to improve recycling rates for people living in flats.

It is one of several measures being introduced by Stevenage Borough Council.

The town has the lowest recycling rate in Hertfordshire at 39%, which is below the national average of 44%.

Rob Broom, the council's cabinet member for the environment, said nearly £1m of ringfenced government money would be used to make "waste services easier to use for our residents".

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday heard that 74 blocks of flats in Stevenage – 59 of them owned by the council – did not have any recycling provision, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers said people living there had "limited general waste provision", with purple bags instead of wheelie bins. They said the main issue was access, and it posed a challenge for council staff to safely move bins.

Of the money being spent, about £720,000 has been allocated to 41 blocks of flats, including the replacing of steps with ramps as well as improving existing bin stores and building new ones.

Most of the rest of the money will be spent on food waste collections.

Officers said the high proportion of flats in Stevenage played a big role in the borough's low recycling rate.

Council leader Richard Henry said: "We did have a lot of people in our flat blocks saying 'We'd like to recycle but we can't', and that's one of the things we've listened to, we've acted on and now we're going to be delivering on."

The work at the flats will begin in August and is expected to be finished next April.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.