Litter bins removed from Lancaster canal towpath to save money

The Canal and Rivers Trust said the decision to remove their bins will save much needed money that will help pay for a long list of vital repairs.

The Royal at Bolton-le-Sands whose business backs onto the canal, learned from the charity that rubbish bins were being removed, so have provided their own bin which they will empty.

A spokesman for The Royal said: “Off the back of the river canal’s trust decision to remove all waste bins from the canal for ‘cost saving’, we’ve decided to provide our own canal side waste bin for public use which we’ll service and empty through a trial period.

"We can’t be responsible for all the Bolton-le-Sands stretch of canal, but we’d at least like to help keep our own bit tidy!”

A spokesman for the Canal and Rivers Trust said: “Our charity wrote to local authorities earlier this year, advising of our intention to remove many bins from our towpaths, including along the Lancaster Canal.

“Servicing bins - which includes regular emptying, maintaining, cleaning and disposing of the waste - is a huge expense to the Trust.

"While we have removed many bins from our waterways, some bins remain, whereby local partners have stepped up to help service them.

“As the charity working hard to protect the nation’s historic and ageing canals, the Canal & River Trust is faced with the soaring costs of looking after the region’s canals and river navigations, at a time when available funding is stretched.

"Following the announcement of a reduction in essential government grant funding over ten years from 2027, the proposed cuts will see the value of public funding for canals reduce in real terms by more than £300 million - or 40% - compared to recent levels.

"These cuts threaten the future of the nation’s historic canals, leading to their decline and to the eventual closure of some parts of the network.

“Our priority has to be maintaining the core fabric of the waterways, including the thousands of locks, bridges, aqueducts and other historic structures that make up the canal network, so that we can

continue to provide free access to our towpaths for millions of people and maintain the integrity of the infrastructure to keep communities safe.

"The decision to remove our bins will save much needed money that will help pay for a long list of vital repairs.

 ”The Trust has many miles of canal where we don’t provide litter bins, including many that have achieved Green Flag Award status.

"Along these canals today, and in future where bins have to be removed, we are asking people who come to enjoy our free-to-visit waterways to follow the Countryside Code and take their litter back with them to be recycled where possible or disposed of responsibly. 

"In doing so, they will be helping to protect the environment and helping our charity save vital money so we can keep the canals open.”

A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: “The servicing and disposal of waste from Canal and Rivers Trust public litter bins has always remained the responsibility of the trust.

“We are aware that the trust has removed bins from waterways in our area and acknowledge that this may have an impact on the cleanliness of the district.

“As such we would be keen to meet with the trust to find out more and if the council can be of any assistance considering its own current financial constraints.

"The city council has requested a meeting to discuss.”