East Hampshire bottle banks are being removed ahead of schedule due to misuse by some businesses and residents, with all sites cleared by Friday 1 November.
Deemed a blight on the community, because of this selfish misuse, East Hampshire District Council’s Cabinet has decided to remove the bottle banks immediately, with East Hampshire Norse starting this straight away.
Glass banks should not be needed as residents now have fortnightly glass collections from their homes. Crews will take any excess as long as it is in a suitable container.
Councillor Richard Millard, Leader of EHDC, said: “Our original plan was to phase out the use of bottle banks by January 2025, but unfortunately, recent weeks have shown that the remaining banks have been misused, so we’re taking them out now.
“We have cleared glass banks only for them to be overflowing again the next day, which raises suspicions that they are being used by local businesses, who should have their own commercial arrangements for glass recycling.
“Some of the banks have also been filled with other waste, rather than glass bottles and jars, so they aren’t doing the job they are in place for.
“I’m sorry that we’ve had to do this, but we don’t really have much choice, and I’m confident that households will be able to recycle all their glass through fortnightly collections.”