
The prospect of wheelie bins replacing blue bags for waste collection in Westmorland and Furness has set alarm bells ringing in parts of rural Eden.
Residents of villages and hamlets in the Ullswater area have contacted their MP and local councillors voicing their strong opposition to the potential move.
Westmorland and Furness Council is currently running a public consultation on options for future waste and recycling services in the area.
This week the council sought to offer reassurance that bespoke solutions could be made available in areas where wheelie bins did not work.
The consultation seeks residents’ thoughts on matters such as the size of containers, frequency of collections and full or partial subscription charges for green waste collections – with the first changes set to be rolled out before the end of this year.
Alongside this, the council has trialled the use of wheelie bins instead of blue bags for general waste, with 550 properties in Penrith involved in a pilot scheme.
The possible introduction of the large, wheeled bins is the biggest cause of concern among rural residents.
In a letter to Westmorland and Furness councillor for Greystoke and Ullswater Judith Derbyshire, around 40 residents of Hartsop, Deepdale and Crookabeck have set out their fears.
These include the fact that many properties in the area cannot be accessed by large council bin wagons. Residents will, they say, be expected to drag the large, heavy bins lengthy distances to collection points.
“Bins are difficult to move over rugged terrain, especially for older people,” states their letter.
In addition, they say that wheelie bins are unsightly and difficult to store – of particular relevance as Hartsop is a conservation village and the whole region is part of a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Their letter states that: “The present system of blue bags and green bags/boxes is efficient, tidy and used widely”.
One of those who has signed the letter is Roger Cooke, who has lived in the hamlet of Hartsop for around 25 years.
He told the Herald wheelie bins were inappropriate for rural areas and would create an eyesore. He also cited multiple examples of homes in the area which would be impossible to reach in a large council bin wagon.
One of Roger’s main concerns is that many people in the area have not yet completed the council’s online survey, giving their views on the introduction of the wheelie bins.
“I’ve asked around and lots of people are unaware of the survey,” he told the Herald.
Responding to the residents’ concerns, a spokesman for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “We have developed the range of options that we are currently consulting on, following feedback from our initial Community Conversation engagement last year and feedback from pilot trials of different types of collection methods and containers.
“In the Eden area, the results from the Community Conversation and a trial of wheelie bins undertaken earlier this year – which included more than 500 households that currently have bags for general waste – showed that people thought wheelie bins were generally more convenient to use than bags for general waste.
“For recycling, pilot trials have shown wheelie bins are considered easier to move to collection points, do not take up any more room than bags and boxes and make it simpler to recycle more effectively.
“Respondents have also told us they prefer wheelie bins as they don’t have separate lids that can get lost and are generally heavier and more robust than separate bags and boxes so are less likely to blow away in windy conditions.
“Using wheelie bins for all materials collected at the kerbside also means we could use the same types of vehicles with hydraulic lifting gear for collecting recycling, general waste and green waste.
“This makes collections quicker, makes the fleet more efficient and makes it easier to cover for any unexpected vehicle breakdown.
“All this helps to improve the reliability of the service and reduces missed collections.
“For all these reasons, the options currently being consulted on include proposals to use wheelie bins for both general waste and recycling.
“However, we have always recognised that a solution that may work well for the majority will not necessarily be suitable for all.
“It will be the case that there may not be sufficient room for every property to store wheelie bins, especially flats and apartments and some types of older terraced properties or cottages without yards.
“There may also be properties in more inaccessible locations, especially in more rural areas, that can’t easily be reached by a conventional bin wagon and there will be some residents who may struggle to move a wheelie bin to a collection point.
“As we already do in such circumstances, we would look at these areas and individual cases and we will work with those communities and residents to come up with a suitable solution for them, which could include retaining a bag collection in some cases or ensuring people who need it receive assisted collections.
“Our aim is to create a new, single waste and recycling service for Westmorland and Furness that makes it easier and more convenient for people to recycle more and waste less, and that is more reliable, cost-effective and better for the environment.
“We are also committed to designing the new service to reflect the feedback we are receiving through our extensive engagement work and we will always work alongside our communities to resolve and find solutions to any specific issues.’’
For more information and to complete the options consultation survey, go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/wasteoptions
Councillors will make a final decision on the new-look services later this year, with the first changes being rolled out by the end of 2025.
Paper copies of the survey are available in the receptions of the council’s main public buildings including Voreda House, Penrith, as well as council libraries.
Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale, told the Herald: “Introducing wheelie bins to Eden could be a really positive step forward and is something a lot of residents raise with me when I’m out and about knocking on doors.
“However, there is no doubt that there are some locations where they may not be appropriate, and it’s important that those streets and communities feed that back to the council.
“I would really encourage all local people to have their say on what they would like to see in their area by heading to the council’s website and getting involved in the consultation.”