Removal of Sidmouth bins causes rubbish issues, claims business owner

The recepticles in Temple Street are due be replaced with large, black ground-mounted units - but these will not be in place until the end of July.

John Rayson, who owns Sidmouth Stationery and Travel Goods, said he has been left having to clear litter out from his doorway nearly every morning since the containers were removed.

The bins in Temple Street were taken away by East Devon District Council (EDDC) after issues were raised over people misusing them to get rid of household and recycling waste.

Mr Rayson, who is also a town councillor, said the decision to remove the containers had resulted in an increase in the amount of litter being dropped because people had nowhere to put it.

He added there had been up to six bins on the street, but now there were only two left.

“People have been just dropping it [litter] on the floor. We have this initiative to try and clean up the down and the bins have been taken away,” said Mr Rayson.

“It is unfortunate it is going to be that long and I think small bins attached to lampposts are likely to be used more.

“It is an issue now, so I imagine it will only get worse as it gets busier with the tourist season.”

An EDDC spokeswoman said small-capacity bins were being replaced across the Sidmouth area.

She added that the bins that had been in Temple Street had been removed because they were being misused, not used at all, or had a small capacity.

The spokeswoman said the council was continuing to monitor the situation closely through its StreetScene officers, who had been checking the area daily to see if the removal had caused problems.

“Although we are reducing the number of bins, we are replacing them with bins offering double the capacity, which makes better use of our resources and helps to de-clutter the street scene,” said the spokeswoman.

“If we feel there is a need for a large bin in Temple Street, we will put one in.”