New Bins, New Rules For Portsmouth Tenants - Do You Have The Right Bins?
If you have properties in Portsmouth you need to be aware of changes in waste collection as falling foul of them could cost you £5,000 (see our earlier article outlining the fines which can be applied).
Residents will be issued small bins which can only hold 3 compressed bin bags and there will be a £2 charge for every additional bin bag (and only then if they have pre-paid stickers on them). Residents in HMO's can get larger bins but you need to take action now to ensure you get the appropriately sized bin for each of your properties.
For details of when the new bins will be delivered to your properties see here.
For guidance on how the bins will / should be used, see here.
We have raised our concerns with relevant councillors, as we believe all HMO's should be issued with larger bins automatically - you can't campaign for cleaner streets and ask tenants in shared housing to abide by the rules if you refuse to take away their rubbish. We have also raised concerns about recycling - it is right that we all encourage our tenants to recycle more but currently, that will typically require more than the standard green bin.
However, Mark Elliott of the Rubbish and Recycling (R&R) team at PCC has been very helpful. They are in the process of contacting HMO landlords having only just received our details from the Housing Standards team, but the situation is basically as follows:
- A normal house (every house) will get a 140lt bin (Other councils give a 240lt bin and collect fortnightly, so PCC argue that we get an extra 20lt/week or 16% more waste collected - but either way squeezing 3 bags in will prove a challenge for many)
- Larger houses (such as 4 bed HMOs) can get a 180lt bin at no charge by talking to R&R
- Those that need more (such as 5 bed HMO"s) can get a 240lt bin free of charge by talking to R&R (this is double normal so should be good for most)
- However, if you have a 6 bed HMO or bigger, R&R recommend one or more 360lt bins, which they will charge you £99 each for, but that is a one-time charge and you then own the bin and are responsible for it / will have to buy a new one if it gets broken or lost
- In future, as part of planning approval, number and size of bins will be stipulated or recommended. The challenge is to retrofit the correct bins to the existing stock of HMOs so they are relying on us to ask for what we need
- They also strongly advise marking the bin indelibly as some have 'gone missing" on the trials. They recommend identifying the bin not just with the provided sticker, but inside the lid too.
For queries about your bins or to request changes, contact the R&R team via email at
We also discussed how to cope with the large amount of waste generated by student homes when they move out in the summer, and Mark suggested we all encourage our tenants to 'think ahead' and to donate as much as possible to local charities such as Learning Links and Moving On. Not sure that helps with the last minute 'lets empty the freezer into a bin bag and get it out on the street before it melts' which seems to overcome many student tenants every year, but the advice about education must help - so we recommend you take it onboard and help to deliver the message from the day you check your new tenants in.
Please let us know your views, reply to