Top tips for a ‘tip top’ bin

If your black bin has an unpleasant odour, try the following:

• Ensure food waste in your black bin is tied securely in a bag – consider double-bagging in hot weather to keep flies out.
• If you have freezer space, why not bag up meat, chicken and fish leftovers and freeze until your black bin collection day.
• Put scrunched up newspaper in the bottom of the bin, with more flat sheets on top – this prevents waste form sticking to the bottom of the bin.
• If your black bin lid does not fit properly, flies can get in and lay eggs – place a brick on the lid to keep it closed. Contact our Customer Services if your bin lid needs repairing or replacing.
• If you get maggots in your bin, once its emptied, disinfect it to remove any remaining eggs or maggots.  Regularly hose your bin out, or look in the phone book for a company to clean your bin on a regular basis.
• An alternative to putting cooked food scraps in the black bin is to use a wormery. The worms will eat through food scraps, vegetable and fruit peelings.  They will also provide free liquid plant food and compost for your garden.
• If you place only dry, rinsed items in your green bin you should not have any of the above problems.