THE CONTROVERSIAL rollout of Bolton’s new ‘slim bins’ begins on Monday.

The council will start to exchange residents' 240-litre grey bins for smaller 140 litre versions in a phased process which is expected to last until November.

Collection routes covering the outer areas of Bolton will be targeted first, with teams gradually working to replace bins at homes nearer the town centre over coming months.

Two weeks before a slim bin is delivered, residents will receive a sticker on their current 240 litre grey bin, reminding them it will be removed on their next collection day and replaced with a slimline version.

Residents can check when their bin is due for delivery by visiting bolton.gov.uk/loverecycling and entering their postcode into the postcode checker.

On the day of the exchange, the bin collection crews will empty the bins as usual.

A vehicle following behind will be used to collect the old 240 litre bins and a separate wagon will deliver the new 140 litre bins to the front of properties.

Each new slim grey bin will have an address sticker so residents can easily identify their own.

Bolton Council hopes the smaller grey bins will save £12.5 million over the next 10 years and increase recycling levels across the borough.

The entire scheme is costing the authority £1.1 million to carry out.

It currently spends £68,000 per collection day disposing of unrecyclable grey bin waste — equating to more than £17 million per year.

Authorities in Tameside, Trafford and Stockport have already introduced slim grey bins. Other councils, such as Bury, have moved to three-weekly collections.

Now Manchester City Council has announced it will be following Bolton’s lead and start swapping its residents 240 litre bins for 140 litre ones.

After they are collected the large grey bins will be recycled and used to make new bins.

Council bosses are asking residents to be patient and not report issues with the delivery of the new bins until a day after their switchover date.

It is predicted there may be some short delays between collection and delivery of the bins — or the new slim bin could be delivered before an old bin is removed as the council looks to avoid having too many vehicles in one street at the same time.

However, if there are issues in the days following this, residents can use the bolton.gov.uk/loverecycling site to report any problems.

The council’s executive member for the environment, Cllr Nick Peel, said: ““We appreciate that this could be a difficult time for residents.

“However, the council is spending £68,000 per collection day on disposing of grey bin waste, so we had to take steps to reduce the amount of grey bin waste and increase the amount that residents recycle.

“We feel that moving to a slim grey bin is the best way to make these savings with less impact on residents.

“Slim bins have already been introduced in three other Greater Manchester councils and residents there have adapted very well and recycling rates have increased and we are confident that Bolton residents can manage this change too.”

Cllr Peel reiterated that any householders who are recycling as much as possible and struggle to cope with the new slim bins will be able to receive support, which could mean retaining their large bin.

He said: We understand that some households and some families may already be recycling everything and may be worrying about how they will cope, so we want to offer all the support and help we can.

“We also understand that some residents need extra help to understand what can and cannot go in the various bins and we are going to provide that additional help.”

Large families with six or more people, families with three or more children in nappies and households with one or more people producing medical waste may be eligible to keep their 240 litre bin, as long as they are recycling properly.

Residents who meet these criteria should also visit www.bolton.gov.uk/loverecycling and ask for a waste audit.