Litter Bin Policy

1.   Aims and objectives

1.1. Provision of an efficient street cleansing service, supported by appropriate use of litter bins, and other preventative tools, to deliver a clean environment.

1.2. To ensure that the provision of street litter bins is fair and necessary and meets a recognised need.

2.   Background

2.1. There is no statutory duty for the Council to provide litter bins.  

2.2. The statutory duty is for Powys County Council to keep 'relevant land' free from litter (as far as practicable).  This only applies to land, which is public open space, under our direct control (i.e. owned and operated by PCC) and highways for which we are responsible (i.e. the adopted highway network). 

3.   Needs assessment

3.1. It should be noted that litter bins do not necessarily resolve a litter problem and, in many cases, can result in additional litter around them and even fly-tipping. They are also subject to abuse by traders and householders using them illegally for their excess waste.

3.2. The Councils' ability to provide litter bins is limited. To manage expectation, it should be assumed that a litter bin will only be installed after monitoring and cleansing, after education and enforcement, where a genuine need has been demonstrated. 

4.   Litter Bin Specification 

4.1. In terms of the type of bin installed, any new bins will be:

• Floor mounted, flush to the floor, minimum of 90 L in volume
• Fire, water and corrosion resistant
• Accept a standard internal [120 L plastic] liner for manual emptying
• Black outer body with council logo, visibility strip, bilingual signage and national branding
• Covered/lidded
• Uniform lock & key system
• Cigarette tray / 'stubber plate' integrated
• Recycling option, where practicabl
• Integrated with our ICT systems

5.   Litter bin locations

5.1.  Litter bins will only be provided on relevant land which is under the Council's direct control.

5.2 . The following areas will normally be prioritised to install/replace litter bins:

• Main historic town centres
• Picnic areas (which are under our direct control)
• Entrances to (Council owned and operated) parks
• Areas near fast food and takeaway retailers
• Public transport hubs & car parks (which are under our direct control)

5.3.  A decision matrix tool ('new bin assessment') is used to determine whether a litter bin should be installed. As detailed in the decision matrix, the following areas will not normally be viewed as suitable for litter bins:

• Exclusively residential areas - except if covered by one of the reasons above.
• Laybys on unrestricted or trunk roads.
• Areas of land which are not our responsibility to maintain e.g. school playing fields, community council assets, canal paths, sports facilities, housing association amenity land, residents car parks.
• Areas where we cannot park a 7.5 tonne caged tipper within a 100m walking distance
• Anywhere that require operatives to walk long distances or traverse steps or uneven paths or work within 1.5 m of a waterway, railway, trunk road, unrestricted road, live electrical supply or other hazard.
• Extremely rural areas which are not reasonably practicable to service frequently.
• Sites which obstruct the highway, impinge the visibility splay of junctions, or impede pedestrian flows - with particular regard to the needs of people with disabilities, wheelchairs and prams. 
• A minimum footpath width of 1.5m must be maintained. We also need to be mindful of our statutory duty to remove detritus and keep areas accessible for mechanical road sweepers. 

6.   Monitoring of litter bins

6.1. Litter bins will be regularly monitored and may be removed if not used or are being regularly abused.

6.2. Abuse would include inappropriate disposal of household or commercial waste or any sites which are subject to arson, graffiti, fly posting, or vandalism.

7.   Third Party owned and installed litter bins

7.1. The Council will not service any bins installed by a third party unless there is an agreement in place to do so.  

7.2. Any such bins that have been historically serviced will need to be reviewed under the decision matrix tool specified under Section 5.3

Litter bin policy (PDF) [325KB]