A new nine bin recycling system has been introduced by Newcastle-under-Lyme Council in order to help meet tough recycling targets. Householders in the area have been told to use the nine bins top separate plastic bottles from glass, tins and aerosols and cardboard from paper.

The new system includes a slop bucket for food waste which is later emptied into green outdoor bin to be collected, a blue box for glass, foils and aerosols, a pink bag for plastic bottles, a blue bag for paper and magazines, a green bag for cardboard, a white bag for clothing, a wheelie bin with a brown lid for garden waste and a grey wheelie bin for non recyclable materials.

The system has come under fire from local residents who say that the new system is too confusing and many have complained that there is no room in their houses to store all the extra bins and bags. Lots of residents have said that trying to deal with 9 recycling bins is just way too much.

The new 9 bin system replaces the old 5 bin system which is used around much of the UK, the aim is to boost the recycling rate from 26% in 2008 to 50% by 2015.

If the new system is found to be successful in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area then it will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the near future.