Council’s black bin advice to families with children in nappies

Although many have said that they support the scheme which is designed to divert as much recyclable waste as possible out of black bins into the recycling green and brown bins, some have asked whether the monthly black bin collection will be adequate for their nappy disposal requirements.

The Council is offering the following advice to families with children still in nappies:

The initial trial demonstrated that many households in a similar situation did in fact find the monthly black bin collection was adequate for their nappy disposal needs, especially when they were careful to avoid using up space in their black bin with recyclable materials.

The modern plastic wheeled bin system offers a clean and hygienic means of storing waste pending collection, compared to the old

metal ‘dustbin’ system. The plastic wheeled bins are impervious, leak-proof and have close fitting lids which when kept closed do not allow waste or smells out, or pests into the bin.

The Environmental Health Service sees no public health risk whatsoever from the proper storage of the likes of disposable nappies in the modern lidded plastic wheeled bin for a monthly period pending collection.

If after getting into the period of the trial, any household with nappy disposal requirements is finding that they cannot make the new system work for them despite their recycling to the maximum, they should contact the Council using the communication methods outlined in the trial letter they received.

Officers will individually assess any household that contacts them about nappy disposal issues and an acceptable resolution will be found to address the needs identified.

The Council is again stressing that with over £40m of ratepayers’ money haemorrhaging out of Northern Ireland every year to the Exchequer in London through landfill tax, it is determined to minimise the amount of its own ratepayers’ hard earned cash that is included in that figure.

And with over 80% of all household waste readily recyclable using the green and brown bins provided to every household in the Banbridge District, the Council is urging every householder to give the trial a go.