New £30 charge for replacement wheelie bins to come into effect this week in Peterborough

A new £30 charge for replacement wheelie bins is due to come into effect in Peterborough this week.

From Saturday, 28th October, a standard grey, green or brown bin will cost £29.50 each, while food waste caddies will cost £10.

The prices are lower for people who receive council tax relief, though: £14.75 for a standard bin or £5 for a caddy.

Peterborough City Council (PCC) says that it currently spends £160,000 per year on replacement bins and that this is “no longer considered to be sustainable”.

It also says that it has seen a “significant increase in replacement requests” after police stopped providing crime reference numbers to people who claim their bin had been stolen.

Occupiers used to have to obtain such a number in order to have a stolen bin replaced, but this is no longer enforceable, PCC says.

The council’s change in bin policy will also affect property developers.

Developers will be expected to pay £70 for two standard wheelie bins and two caddies (a large and a small) for each new property they build in Peterborough.

The charges will be reviewed annually, the council says.

The new charge was first proposed back in 2021 and approved by PCC’s cabinet member for infrastructure, environment and climate change, Cllr Nigel Simons (Conservatives, Eye, Thorney and Newborough) this week.

It comes into effect on Saturday unless other councillors decide to ‘call in’ the decision by Friday (27th October), i.e. ask the council to take a second look.

Currently, no-one has called in the decision – but this happened last year when Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors objected to the plans because, they said, charging for replacement bins could disadvantage particular residents.

This led to further discussions about the changes before councillors agreed that offering a discount to residents who receive benefits would be sufficient to address this concern.

The changes are now expected to come into effect without opposition.

The council says it will continue to repair damaged bins for free where possible.