A local authority has told residents that shop-bought wheelie bins are not suitable or safe for when rubbish is collected.
Mansfield District Council is advising residents they should only buy a wheelie bin from the authority to be certain it meets safety standards and will be collected.
Some households are buying wheelie bins from regular retailers because they are cheaper or bigger.
Hayley Barsby, the council’s Director of Communities, said: “This is not a huge problem in the district but it is something that has been ongoing for several years.
“A full garden waste bin can weigh 50kgs and a general waste bin can weigh up to 30kgs.”
Mr Barsby warned that using bins that are not council approved is ‘dangerous’.
He said: “There have been occasions where bins have snapped or cracked when placed on the lifting equipment and sometimes they have fallen off while being lifted.”
“This is obviously dangerous, not just to our staff but also the public, especially if this happens on a busy road.
“The council buys bins in bulk so we get a good price.
“If residents want to source their own bin, we need to make sure it meets our specification – which is very difficult to establish, so we don’t encourage it.”
The cheaper bins are often made from a lower grade of plastic which can crack or buckle under pressure or do not fit the lifting gear on council bin lorries which can fall off when being emptied.
The council has said where crews come across a non-council bin, they will empty it once and leave a tag on the bin to advise the household it does not meet council specification and will not be emptied again until it is replaced.
Bins from the council cost £26.