Edinburgh litter bins should be upgraded to serve as recycling bins too, says councillor

It would mean on-street and in-park recycling bins for Edinburgh

Litter bins in the Capital should be upgraded to accept drinks cans and plastic bottles for recycling as well, a councillor is proposing.

Lib Dem Jack Caldwell who represents Leith Walk says residents and visitors should have the opportunity to recycle while on the move and points out the majority of litter bins in Edinburgh’s town centres and parks are refuse-only.

Now he is calling for a "substantial number" of bins in the city centre, the eight town centres and council-owned parks and green spaces to be made double-capacity, catering for both litter and recycling.

Lib Dem councillor Jack Cadwell says people walking in parks or through the streets should have an opportunity to recycle.

He said: "A lot of people have said to me they find themselves walking through parks and they have a plastic bottle but there's no way to recycle it. We don't want people using communal bins because they're intended for residential use. If we're serious about the climate emergency there needs to be as many ways to recycle as possible."

He said 5.5 billion plastic bottles were sent to landfill every year in the UK. "If we gave people the option to recycle we could reduce that. It's not fair to say people aren't recycling enough if we're not providing enough facilities for them to do it."

Cllr Caldwell believes his suggestion for on-street and in-park recycling bins would be inexpensive. He said current street bins typically had one wheelie bin fitted inside and he wants them to be given double capacity with two wheelie bins, the second one for recycling bottles and cans. He said it could be fitted with a small round slot to make the difference clear.

He is proposing a motion at Thursday’s full council, calling for officials to prepare a report on the feasibility and costs of his proposal.