Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has failed in a bid to get backing from Stormont to issue fixed penalties for bins blocking streets.
The council wrote to DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) seeking new enforcement powers for local authorities to deal with bins being left on streets for prolonged periods causing obstruction, following an approach by Ards and North Down Council.
At a meeting of Mid and East Antrim’s Environment and Economy Commitee, on Monday evening, a letter from DAERA Minister Andrew Muir MLA advised that provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on removal of waste bins from the public highway after emptying “only apply to Scotland”.
“The Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997 does not contain equivalent express powers,” he stated.
The minister suggested the council, in consultation with its legal advisers, could consider if it may have “other suitable powers” to address the issue.
At the same meeting, councillors were given an update on a review by the borough council of the impact on brown bin waste following a reduction in the delivery of food caddy liners to Mid and East Antrim’s households.
Last September, councillors agreed caddy liners would be delivered by bin lorry crews twice a year, instead of three; once on a black bin collection day and another during a brown bin collection.
Of the 68,000 households in Mid and East Antrim Borough, 61,200 black bins are presented to be emptied and 47,600 brown bins.
It was anticipated the reduction would allow for the use of one liner weekly and would result in a 30 per cent saving to the local authority of almost £50k. Previously, the cost was £172,500.
Councillors voiced concern that householders may place food waste in black bins.
A report to the committee said the objective is to “achieve cost savings while maintaining an effective brown bin service for food and garden waste collections”.
The review shows a drop in cost of £39,000 and decrease in organic waste by 11 per cent, from 19,969 tonnes to 17,773 tonnes. “Council’s priority in relation to food waste is to reduce the volume generated,” it said.
Bins missed during collections account for the highest number of complaints to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, councillors have been told previously,
The council received 74 complaints about waste services between January and March this year. Of these, 82 per cent related to bins left unemptied.
Nine per cent were complaints about waste service personnel.