HARLOW Council has begun installing extra litter bins across the town as part of the drive to clean up the town.  

One-hundred-and-thirty-four new bins are being installed across the town. Around half of the bins are being installed now, with the rest to be put in place in June and July.

There will also be six solar powered bins that compact the litter and let the council’s maintenance company, HTS, know when they need emptying. These will be used in areas which are harder to access, for example Burnt Mill Lane by the Outdoor Centre and by the canal and will also be used in areas of heavy footfall where existing bins are emptied several times a day. 

Once the programme is completed there will be around 780 public litter bins in the town, which will be emptied by HTS. In Harlow, all litter bins are dual use meaning dog waste can be put in any litter bin, not just dog waste bins.

The locations for new bins have been identified following earlier consultation.

Councillor Russell Perrin, Leader of Harlow Council, said:

“The feedback on new larger bins being installed across the town has so far been positive and they are going to help with the battle against litter in the town. Litter damages our environment and spoils our residents’ enjoyment of what our town has to offer, so the new bins will help support the work to restore pride in our town. Although there is never an excuse to drop litter, we know more bins in the right places can help reduce the amount of litter which is dropped on our streets and in our parks.”

Councillor Nicky Purse, cabinet portfolio holder for environment, added:

“Residents have often asked for more bins to be provided that’s why it was important that we asked the public to help us identify the best place to put new bins. It is great news that the new litter bin programme is now rolling out across the town and that modern technology is going to be used to improve the speed of bins being emptied in hard to access areas and in areas visited by lots of residents.

“We know how much our residents value clean streets and green spaces, so we hope these new bins will be well used and really make a difference in cutting down the amount of litter we see on our streets.”