Thousands of households in Redbridge will be receiving wheelie bins from February this year in an attempt to keep the streets cleaner.

Redbridge Council is introducing the pilot scheme to increase the amount of waste recycled and help keep people's front gardens clean.

The proposal came after a survey in October 2018 revealed that the majority of residents said it would be helpful to have a bin to store their rubbish and agreed that more should be done to clean up waste on the streets.

A wheelie bin should make putting rubbish out easier, while also encouraging residents to recycle more, the council said.

The pilot areas have been chosen to be representative of the borough so the bins can be tested to make sure they work as intended, before the council considers introduce them more widely.

Households in Bridge, Fairlop, Loxford, Seven Kings and Wanstead Village have been selected for the trial.

"Introducing wheelie bins right across the borough could potentially reduce some of the £18million the council currently spends each year on collecting 22 million black sacks," a spokesman for the council said.

"It will also encourage people to reduce rubbish and recycle more. Redbridge has a target of increasing its recycling rate to 50 per cent."

The new 180-litre grey wheelie bins will be delivered to 7,000 homes taking part in the pilot from the first week of February, with collections starting from Monday, February 10.

Residents in the pilot areas will receive a letter and information about the pilot this week.

Councillor John Howard, cabinet member for civic pride, said: "A key aim of the scheme is to keep our streets cleaner - containing rubbish in a wheelie bin will prevent animals and birds ripping open bags and making a mess in our streets, which is unpleasant for everyone and costly to clean up.

"Using wheelie bins for rubbish will also help keep people's front gardens clean.

"We're testing the scheme to make sure that the bins reduce refuse tonnages and work for householders as intended, and we're eager to hear residents' views."

More information about the scheme can be found here