It's not the usual thing you see everyday on the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, but the iconic structure has welcomed the latest addition to thousands of households across the North East.
Gateshead Council has paraded the gleaming new blue recycling bins it will be supplying to homes in the area over the coming months by displaying them on the town's famous landmark to launch their recycling scheme. The bins have been manufactured by MGB Plastics, the UK's leading manufacturer of wheeled bins, who will now supply 84,000 wheeled bins direct to homes in Gateshead over a six month period.
The contract is part of a collective wheeled bin tender the company, based in Rotheram, won last year to supply Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council, and Sunderland City Council. This deal will see MGB Plastics deliver over 250,000 240L wheeled bins direct to households across the North East. The deal with the three authorities is the largest wheeled bin contract in the UK in 2010.
Conor Sugrue, General Manager at MGB Plastics, said: "We are delighted to start the delivery of wheeled bins to Gateshead and what better way to begin this contract than to showcase them to the local public on an iconic heritage like Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
"It is a unique contract to be involved with in a number of ways. Not only is this the biggest contract of wheeled bins in the UK in 2010 but also because we are supplying straight to households. Our delivery service will see us take these wheeled bins direct to the household from our factory in Rotherham so there is no requirement to store at any of the three council depots which takes a lot of hassle away from the local authorities.
"We believe that this contract win further enhances MGB's position as the leading manufacturer of wheeled bins in the UK and is testament to our unique distribution service and our UK manufacturing capabilities.
"This is the first time supplying bins to Gateshead although we had supplied bins to South Tyneside before and we are very pleased with how the contract has gone."
MGB Plastics will manufacture all of the bins at its facility in Rotherham. It has been supplying authorities gradually since January and expects to complete the contract over the coming months.
Operating from a 5,000 sq m modern manufacturing facility on the Barbot Hall Industrial Estate in Rotherham, MGB uses state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that only bins of the highest quality are produced.