Bolton Council is to stick to spending tens of thousands on compostable bin bags after approval last week.

The compostable bin bags for food waste are available for free to anyone anywhere across the borough.

The council is after a new supplier upon the conclusion of a contract with the old supplier and, according to a report to the cabinet member for climate change and environment, Cllr Richard Silvester, it spent £212,812 on 16,370,154 compostable bin bags in the year to April 1, 2024.

It is an increase of more than 60 per cent in terms of spending on the year to April 1, 2022, an increase of more than 100 percent in terms of total on the year to April 1, 2022, and the sum is around half of what the authorities saved by slashing beige bin collections to once a month.*

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Lory Hunter, the head of environmental delivery, said: "We procure the liners on a three-to-five-year contract. 

"It is up for re-procurement but we are looking at other options to make sure we are making the right decision."

Some of the options open to the cabinet member for climate change and environment were to reduce the supply of bin bags to none at all or to one per property per week.

There is research a reduction in the supply of bin bags would reduce the rate of recycling but there are other authorities to do so with no reduction in the rate of recycling.

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Another of the options open to Cllr Silvester was to partner with the other Greater Manchester local authorities to provide the service. But the other Greater Manchester local authorities are mid-contract.

The recommendation to Cllr Silvester was to provide the service as it is at the moment for at least three years from December 1, 2024, and he approved the recommendation at a meeting on Monday.

Ms Hunter said: "Now is not the right time to reduce the liners for residents.

"We think providing the same provision is the right decision at this point in time."

*
2021/2022 - £130,573 on 7,680,765 bin bags
2022/2023 - £169,052 on 10,565,750 bin bags
2023/2024 - £212,812 on 16,370,154 bin bags

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.