Full Breakdown
Denbighshire’s Multi-Bin Recycling Scheme Sparks Resident Backlash
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Council’s Multi-Bin Recycling Scheme
Denbighshire County Council has introduced a recycling system that can involve up to 11 separate containers for a single household. The core weekly collection includes an orange food-waste caddy, a blue hessian sack for cardboard, and a “Trolibocs” unit—a stack of three bins presented as one container with distinct compartments. Every fourth week a residual-waste bin is added. Optional services expand the lineup to a green wheelie bin for garden waste, white single-use bags for textiles, a pink clip-on holder for batteries, and a black caddy for absorbent hygiene products. A soft-plastics trial currently adds a further bin for a limited number of homes.
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How the System Works
In practice, most households place three containers out each week and a fourth container once every four weeks. Approximately 4,500 households are participating in the soft-plastics trial, which the council says will run until early December. The council frames the Trolibocs as a single unit, arguing that its compartmentalised design allows efficient separation of recyclables without counting as multiple bins.
Visual evidence
Images from the story
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Resident Feedback and Criticism
Several residents have described the arrangement as “ridiculous” and “an absolute joke.” One unnamed resident, who already manages six bins, said a seventh bin for the soft-plastics trial would make waste handling a “full-time job.” Linda Muraca, a local resident quoted in The Times, complained that the weekly collection schedule leaves rubbish littering the roads, especially in the fourth week, and has coincided with a noticeable rise in rodent activity in Rhyl.
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Council Response and Future Plans
Denbighshire County Council denied media claims that households are required to put out 12 bins, emphasizing that many services are optional. A council spokesperson stated that the authority is proud of its high recycling rates and acknowledges that changes to collection services can take time to adapt. The spokesperson added that resident feedback on the soft-plastics trial has been positive and that the program supports upcoming Welsh Government recycling requirements that will apply to all local authorities in Wales.