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Welsh council sparks fury by handing 4,500 homes a TWELFTH bin as residents complain of rubbish everywhere

From the Newshound archive · first published 27 October 2026 · last updated 28 October 2026.

Wheelie bins. Denbighshire County Council requires most households to separate waste into 11 distinct containers, with 4,500 homes now piloting a 12th bin for soft plastics.
Wheelie bins. Denbighshire County Council requires most households to separate waste into 11 distinct containers, with 4,500 homes now piloting a 12th bin for soft plastics.

Denbighshire County Council in Wales is trialling a 12th container — taking flexible packaging including crisp packets, chocolate wrappers and ready meal tops — with 4,500 homes, alongside an existing 11-bin system that cost £22 million when it launched in 2024. Resident Linda Muraca said managing the bins has become "a full-time job" with "nowhere near enough room" to store them all. Critics accuse the council of treating residents as "unpaid binmen" while streets are left strewn with rubbish after collections.

Residents must work through a 20-page council guide to determine which item goes into which container.

John Jacob, of Rhyl, warned the bin chaos is damaging the streetscape: 'All you see is bins.'

MoreLBC'Collecting rubbish has become a full-time job': Council sparks backlash after giving twelve bins to thousands of residents - LBCThe IndependentThe UK council where residents can have up to 11 separate bins - The IndependentGB NewsResidents 'furious' after council forces them to put out 12 separate bins - GB NewsThe SunFury as UK council 'makes households put out TWELVE separate bins' with rubbish strewn ‘all over the place' - The SunDaily Mail NewsA bin too far: The town where residents now have to sort recycling into 12 bins... and get called 'lazy' for complaining
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