EVERY home in the borough is set to get a wheelie bin, thanks to the success of a three-year pilot scheme. In March, 2006 the borough s waste strategy was adopted, and last week s executive meeting saw the culmination of all the hard work. The cost of thi

EVERY home in the borough is set to get a wheelie bin, thanks to the success of a three-year pilot scheme.

In March, 2006 the borough's waste strategy was adopted, and last week's executive meeting saw the culmination of all the hard work.

The cost of this project is considerable, over �2million is needed to make it a reality and an ongoing investment of �375,000 is needed to pay for extra staff and vehicles.

However council officers believe the savings made through no longer supplying black bags and paying to use landfill sites will eventually outweigh the costs.

These costs are currently not provided for and will be decided upon at the 2009/10 budget meeting.

Barking and Dagenham had set out to have the cleanest streets in London and to achieve the greatest waste reduction and highest rates of recycling.

And celebrations were due as environmental officers trumpeted a 15 per cent reduction in waste in pilot areas.

A staggering 91 per cent of families in Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Alibon, River, Chadwell Heath, and Eastbrook wards said they were in favour of wheelie bins.

That is compared to a paltry 65 per cent approval rate when the scheme began.

The number of homes using the orange bin bags has increased, with recycling and composting more than doubling in the pilot areas.

Head of environmental and enforcement services, Darren Henaghan, said: "Before this the borough had the second highest rate of non recyclable waste in the country.

"Now other councils are looking to our scheme for inspiration."

Executive member for Regeneration, Mick McCarthy, said: "There was some scepticism at first that wheelie bins were not a solution, and that some amendments would have to be made to the scheme.

"But this is a vast improvement.

"There is less rubbish on the streets because of split rubbish bags or bags which have been torn into by foxes."

Executive members agreed at the meeting held at the Civic Centre in Dagenham, last week, that the wheelie bin scheme would be rolled out across the whole borough.