by Cotswold households have 10 different categories to sort their waste for rubbish collection and recycling.
Lib Dem-controlled Cotswold District Council has the highest number of categories of household rubbish of all councils in England, according to a survey.
It is among a number of councils across England and Wales asking residents to divide their rubbish into up to 11 categories available for collection.
These are general waste, mixed dry recycling, food waste, paper and card, garden waste, glass, plastics, batteries, textiles, electrical waste and coffee pods.
The Conservative government has promised not to introduce legislation forcing households to have at least seven bins, but has left it to local authorities to decide how many would be appropriate.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance, which carried out the research, said the proliferation of bins had left households with the burden of sorting their own rubbish, despite paying council tax to fund recycling services.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Councils across the UK are putting a huge burden on households through the often mind-bogglingly complex waste separation system.
“Bin collection is one of the main taxpayer-funded services, but in large parts of the country residents themselves are responsible for much of the increase.”
Lib-Dem-controlled Chelmsford and Labour-run Hounslow have the second highest number of bins in England, both of which collect up to nine different containers, including one for coffee pods .
Gosport, also run by the Lib Dems, has only two contrasts – normal waste and recycling.
Along with their normal rubbish, residents in the Cotswolds are asked to separate their glass, paper, cardboard and other mixed recycling into separate bins.
They also have the option of recycling garden waste, small electrical items, textiles and household batteries, which must be sorted into separate containers.
As standard, households in the Cotswold area are issued with seven different containers, including an inner bin for kitchen waste.
The council was recently forced to apologize for “unacceptable delays” in litter collections after bins were left empty for almost four weeks, when they changed collection routes to cut costs, and reports that garden waste rotting in the heat.
The survey, based on responses to Freedom of Information requests, found that 70 per cent of councils charge for collecting garden waste.
In Wales, councils are required to collect paper, metal, plastic and glass separately wherever technically, environmentally and economically feasible.
Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent councils in Wales, where the Welsh Labor Government gives local authorities recycling targets, provide households with up to 10 different bins.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance suggested that raising council tax rates across the country made it even more unacceptable for local authorities to expect households to sort their own waste.
Council tax for a typical band D council property in England rose by £106 between 2024-25, an average increase of 5.1 per cent, the second biggest on record.
Pembrokeshire, in Wales, experienced the highest council tax rise between 2012-13 and 2022-23, with an increase of more than 67 per cent. There are seven different boxes.
Councils in England can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £80 against residents who repeatedly fail to recycle correctly, but not for accidentally putting something in the wrong bin, according to Government guidance.
The guidance also states that local authorities should “target those who cause real harm to the local environment”.
From March 2026, councils will have to collect the same types of plastic, paper and card, glass and metal, alongside food and garden waste.
The waste industry had pushed for these to be collected in separate containers as it makes it easier to recycle rubbish at a processing plant.
The new Labor Government has committed to a circular economy by 2050, but the manifesto did not detail its plans for recycling.
Councilor Mike Evemy, deputy leader of Cotswold District Council, said: “Our recycling rate is one of the best in the country. We provide our residents with seven containers so that they can recycle a wide range of materials as well as collect their residual waste. This is comparable to many councils across the country.
“This allows residents to separate food waste and recycle materials including small electrical items, batteries and clothing at the roadside – a service not all councils provide.
“These items can be bagged and placed in one of the black boxes used for glass or paper.
“In other places residents would have to travel to a tip or other recycling point to recycle those items. Instead, our residents can place them in a recycling box.
“We believe this not only helps us recycle more but also provides a better service to our residents.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are committed to reducing waste and increasing recycling rates and making this process simpler for the public.
“Further announcements will be made on the delivery of the recycling reforms in due course.”
