Council confirms plan to reduce cost of replacing lost bins

Following a public consultation, the new charge was approved at the council’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 18 March 2025.

Since April 2019, the council has received 35,000 reports of bins that have been abandoned, contaminated, vandalised, lost, or stolen, accounting for almost half of the bins supplied to residents in this time.

That cost has had to be picked up by everybody who pays council tax in the borough, but from now on some of the bill will be paid for by the households whose bins have gone astray. 

The £30 charge will only apply to properties that have already received a replacement bin of the same type in the last 5 years to encourage residents to take more care of their bins.

It is expected that the charge would only be applicable for approximately 20 percent of all bin requests, with kerbside brown caddies and silver kitchen caddies also remaining free of charge.

Councillor Tricia Ayrton, the council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for climate change and environment, said:

“The re-introduction of bin charges should significantly reduce the delivery of replacement bins and removal of abandoned or contaminated bins, which requires substantial resources that can be utilised elsewhere in our environmental management service. 

“This is a step forward in our plans to save money whilst also having a positive impact on climate change—through reduced use of resources to produce and supply bins and a reduction in waste plastic from unwanted bins.”

The savings scheme could bring the council an additional £17,000 a year through a reduction of operational time and the purchasing and storing of bins. 

The council is also keen to remind residents there are other ways they can help by recycling as many materials as possible and reducing waste. 

Households can still take advantage of free bulky waste collections, with Rochdale being one of only 2 boroughs in Greater Manchester to offer free collections. 

Residents can book 2 free collections every year of up to 3 items, but any more items in those visits cost £8 each.

It’s just £12 for a third collection in a year, which includes 3 items—and more objects cost £8 each, up to 6 items per booking. 

Free recycling workshops are also available for local schools, businesses, and community groups to offer anyone of any age the opportunity to learn about the importance of recycling wisely so we can all play our part in reducing waste. 

If you’d like to know more about recycling lessons, email recycling@rochdale.gov.uk for further information.