ISLE of Wight residents will soon have to pay towards the replacement of their wheelie bins, the Isle of Wight Council has announced. 
From December 1, residents will pay £10 towards the replacement of lost recycling and waste bins.
The move could save the council’s waste services up to £33,000 a year, as it currently picks up the bill for lost/stolen bins.
The savings from the new charge is equivalent to almost two full time care assistant posts and is part of the council’s drive to use residents’ money wisely and balance its budget – an option agreed at the Full Council budget setting meeting in February 2016. 
If bins are stolen, they will be replaced free of charge, as long as the householder reports the theft to the police; new build properties will also get new bins as will people moving to an existing property, where a bin isn’t already there. 
Residents are being encouraged to personalise their bins to protect against theft – and to also take greater care to prevent damage. Thefts must be reported via 101 or online at https://www.facewatch.co.uk/olcr-portal/ and a crime reference number obtained. 
The council is warning residents that a false reporting of a bin theft wastes valuable police resources and is a crime under section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967. 
Food caddies, paper and card inserts and gull-proof sacks continue to be replaced free of charge. 
“This charge is less than half what it costs the service to replace the bin and is an appropriate amount for people to pay that means that money can be used for other front line services”, said Michael Murwill, Cabinet member for waste management. 
“The waste service is paying for far too many bins and cannot continue to do so. Sadly, a small minority of people are abusing this system to collect them to use as storage devices or to avoid recycling. 
“I think that the vast majority of residents who look after their bins and use them properly will think that this is a good way for the waste service to be responsible with their money.”