At last, new litter bins installed

NEW litter bins have finally been installed in Henley almost three months later than planned.

The town council has spent £9,242 on replacing 10 single green and gold heritage cast iron bins.

This takes the overall bin capacity from 1,800 litres to 2,520 litres and delivers an additional 1,440 litres of recycling capacity, many in areas where there was previously none.

Biffa, the contractor for South Oxfordshire District Council, the waste authority, has also agreed for an additional Monday collection for the bin near Trinity Primary School to prevent it from overflowing.

As the Henley Standard reported last month, the new single litter bins had to be sent back to manufacturer Broxap twice due to a problem with the finish.

When they were first delivered in March the paintwork was unsatisfactory so they were returned. When the second delivery was made the same problem was spotted.

Broxap, one of the biggest suppliers of street furniture in the UK, investigated and put the cause down to a fault with the paint itself.

The company apologised, provided the council with an extra bin, and repainted the bins free of charge.

Paul Carey, the town centre manager, said: “Don’t the bins looks lovely? We have increased the capacity for litter by getting these bins.

“They are 90-litre bins whereas the old ones were 45-litre and the next step is to replace some of the double and triple bins around the town as well.

“It is a really good thing to now have them in place and hopefully people will use them well because it is a shame to see litter on the ground.

“People in Henley do take pride in its appearance and hopefully the bins will help keep it looking tidy.”

The new bins are part of a programme in which 22 bins will be replaced as they are more than 20 years old. The remaining 12 bins, which are double and triple the size, will be ordered separately.

The council has agreed to provide some larger bins because the existing ones are regularly seen to be full or overflowing.

Residents, business owners and visitors have complained that the streets were becoming dirtier.

Last summer, Councillor Kellie Hinton said the council had made a mistake in choosing to refurbish the existing bins in 2021 at a cost of £3,870.