Douglas North MHK David Ashford says the decision by Douglas Council to remove litter bins from the capital has already led to complaints.

The local authority has admitted it has removed four bins because of improper use by residents.

The decision to remove public bins from the streets comes after the council axed weekly collections, which has led to some people branding council members ‘arrogant’ for not consulting with residents before cutting their services in a bid to boost recycling.

In response to a written question Councillor Falk Horning said: ‘Where there is evidence that pedestrian litter bins are being used by households to dispose of their rubbish, the bin is temporarily removed to limit the behaviour. This was a phenomenon ahead of the change in waste service and every effort is made to identify the households responsible.’

However, this latest decision has drawn the ire of Mr Ashford who said the policy was ‘disturbing’.

He added: ‘I have had several people onto me complaining that litter bins have been removed purely because people are using them to dispose of their household litter. 

‘The removal has other consequences, so for instance the large bin by Governor’s Hill lakes appears to have been removed. As a result I am now getting increased complaints of dog fouling again, something the installation of that bin several years ago resolved.

‘Removing public litter bins will just make matters worse and increase general waste around the city.’

When we asked Douglas Council how many bins have been removed, a spokesperson said that out of the 355 public bins across the capital, it has removed four of them.

They added: ‘This isn’t new actually as bins are sometimes temporarily removed as their use is abused by either households or commercial operators. The temporary removal normally lasts a month or two.’

The spokesperson also explained that staff know when bins are being used for household waste because they are stuffed with black bags.

They said: ‘On those occasions, they go through the rubbish and if they can identify where it has come from, they receive a visit from the community and enforcement team.  

‘The evidence comes from reports from either staff or the public of public litter bins being overfilled and abused.’