SLIM bins have been hailed a “great success” by Bolton Council after saving more than £1 million and reducing the tonnage of fly-tipping in the area.

The authority released figures that showed £1.4 million worth of savings had been made between June, when the bins were introduced, and December.

Figures also revealed that fly-tipping tonnage had gone down from 774.62 tonnes, between April and December in 2015, to 689.24 tonnes in the same period in 2016.

Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton Council cabinet member for the environment, said the introduction had surpassed the authority’s expectations, having originally aimed to save £1.25 million by the end of March, 2017.

He said: “It has been a great success. We are going to massively exceed our £1.25 million target. That means that we will have a bit more flexibility in our budget in the forthcoming years.

“As well as educating residents on what they can recycle, we’ve upped the number of fixed penalty notices and we’re taking people to court who are prolific fly-tipping offenders. All that has led to the number of fly-tips actually dropping.

“The council could not have saved £1.4 million so far without the co-operation of the people of Bolton, who have taken to the new scheme very well.”

The news follows concerns that the smaller 140 litre slim bins had led to an increase in fly-tipping.

But Cllr Peel said it has, instead, led to the community becoming more conscious about recycling.

He added: “I think we’re moving to a stage where we’re drilling down on an ever-decreasing group of people who, for whatever reason, are not grasping the new system or are still worried about it.

“But people who have a large families, babies and medical waste, as long as they are recycling to the best of their ability, will be allowed them to keep their 240 litre bin.

“And not every town has done that. A lot of boroughs have just said one size fits all. We never believed we had to do that to improve recycling and I think we’ve been proved right.

“What I would say is, if you feel that you are genuinely recycling everything and your residual bin is not big enough for your household’s needs then get in touch. We’re not here to hit people over the head with a big stick. If you physically can’t do it, you can’t do it.”

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