Mansfield District Council has awarded the contract for the supply of bins ahead of the introduction of a kerbside glass recycling collection service in the district.

Sarah Troman, head of neighbourhoods, recently took the delegated decision to award the contract for 36,000 140-litre wheeled bins to Craemer.

In November 2019, the council agreed to the introduction of a kerbside glass collection service to increase recycling rates and minimise residual waste.

However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the council said it has had to prioritise essential services, such as general household waste, to ensure they were not impacted and this had impacted its ability to keep to the original glass recycling project timescales.

Work on the project has resumed with the aim of rolling out the kerbside glass collection service by 1st April, 2021. With the collections taking place every eight weeks, it could potentially be May 2021 before some residents have their glass recycling bin emptied for the first time.

Coun Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “We are pleased to have moved a step closer to implementing this new service.

“We know there is a lot of public support for the scheme and thank people for their understanding of the unavoidable delay. It was necessary to ensure we could continue providing our statutory household waste collection service at a time of crisis.

“The scheme will be better for the environment, increase the amount we recycle, and stop glass going to landfill or for incineration. We also hope it will stop people contaminating their blue recycling bins with glass.

“It is a key part of the council’s agenda to be a cleaner, greener and more welcoming district.”

Some homes such as flats and complexes will receive communal bins rather than individual bins but where these cannot be provided due to a lack of space, residents will be able to continue recycling glass at community bottle banks. Some bottle banks will be moved to new locations to make them more convenient for areas not covered by the kerbside collections.

The council will inform residents when the free bins, which will be black with teal coloured lids, will be delivered to homes as soon as dates are confirmed.