Council to give out gold stars to households who reduce amount of rubbish produced

Gold stars are to be presented to households who use slimmer bins – but some critics have suggested the idea should be thrown out. Most properties in Cambridge use a 240-litre black wheelie bin for non-recyclable refuse but yesterday the city council said every 140-litre bin issued from now on will have a gold star sticker on it.

Environment chiefs said they wanted to highlight the number of residents reducing the amount sent to landfill, but opposition spokesman Cllr George Owers questioned how effective it would prove. He said: “I can’t help thinking it’s a little bit patronising – are people really going to rush to have a smaller bin just because somebody has put a gold star on it?



“Trying to encourage people to produce less waste for black bins is a good aim and I support the council in trying to do that. But this is a bit like being at school when you do something good and a teacher gives you a gold star. I think most adults have moved on from that.”

Cllr Adam Pogonowski, leader of the Green group, said: “The council is treating people like kids – a sticker isn’t much of an incentive. It will take extra carbon and plastic to create these bins when people could keep current ones and put less in them.” Cllr Jean Swanson, the council’s executive member for environmental and waste services, said she hoped the gold stars would encourage neighbours to follow suit.