Mystery of disappearing bins

Councillor Ian Gilchrist (Liberal Democrat, Widcombe) has stumbled on a mystery which has residents annoyed and Council officers perplexed: someone is stealing Bath’s litter bins!

The problem was first brought to the attention of Cllr Gilchrist by a resident in Widcombe who detailed four locations in the area of the Lower Bristol Rd and Brougham Hayes, where there had once been litter bins performing their civic duty but where there now remain nothing but a circular impression in the ground. Other Councillors have heard similar reports from other areas.

Fearing that this might be a Council tactic to reduce litter collection costs Cllr Gilchrist contacted the relevant officers, who replied: “We are bewildered as to why/who has removed these bins. We have had many bins disappearing since August, and we can only assume that some parties may be involved, taking the opportunity to increase their income through the scrap metal trade”.

Cllr Gilchrist says:

“Bizarre though this explanation seems, I can think of no other. It’s hard to attribute the problem to random acts of vandalism as the removal seems so systematic. I don’t believe there is much scrap metal value in these bins so I can’t see how it benefits the perpetrators, but nevertheless the cost to the Council to replace them will be considerable.

“Until the new bins can be put in place I would urge all people passing through this area to ensure they carry their litter home and dispose of it properly there.”

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