Fears allayed over plans to close bin chutes in Portsmouth City Council's tallest tower blocks

Bin chutes in Portsmouth City Council’s tallest tower blocks will not be removed as part of planned changes to waste collections, councillors have been told.

The council has begun an overhaul of recycling collections at all its communal housing buildings to prepare for an incoming, expanded recycling service.

This will include closing bin chutes in some blocks, prompting fears this would make it more difficult to dispose of rubbish, particularly in the taller buildings and those that only have a single staircase.

The issue was raised by councillors Charlotte Gerada and Cal Corkery at cabinet member for housing, councillor Darren Sanders’, Friday (September 15) decision meeting. He said he shared their concerns.

Cllr Gerada said it could cause problems for people with reduced accessibility and for those living on higher floors and asked the council to consider alternative arrangements where possible.

She was told all tower blocks would still be able to use chutes although some smaller “low-to mid-height” buildings would lose theres because bin stores would need to be moved to accommodate increased numbers of bins.

The £620,000 programme comes at the end of a 12-month trial to assess changes to waste collections at the city’s largest residential blocks and comes ahead of the introduction of the new “twin stream” recycling service mandated under the new Environment Act.

This will see the council collect paper and cardboard separately from other recyclable material while the latter will also be expanded to include glass; plastic pots, tubs and trays; flexible plastics; foil trays; and cartons.

Cllr Sanders said councillors would be given regular progress reports to monitor the programme and make sure people are still able to dispose of their waste in cases where chutes are blocked off.

Approving the programme, he said: “The questions reflect a wider issue which is the transition to the green economy and the transition to a more sustainable future.

“That does create issues as things change. None of these blocks were built when the concept of there being ‘no planet B’ was around.

“I’m delighted that recycling rates have gone up in the city but they’re still far too low and it’s very important that everybody, particularly people on council estates, play a big part. So we have to get this right.”