THE cost of bringing wheelie bins to Darlington for the first time could reach £1m, a report for councillors has revealed.

Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet will be asked to decide at a meeting next week what process the council will use to buy almost 50,000 plastic wheeled bins for every residential property in the town.

The size and value of the order means that the purchase is subject to strict EU procurement rules, which stipulate that the council must advertise across Europe before choosing between bids.

The council voted last month to move from black bin bag collections to wheelie bins amid concerns about the health and safety of waste collection staff.

A report produced for the cabinet said members had a choice of going out to a full European tender process, which can be lengthy, or use a pre-prepared framework, with a choice of six companies which could fulfill the required order, who would then submit sealed bids.

A council spokeswoman said: “We can’t not use the EU procurement route, we can’t avoid that. We have to advertise nationally and internationally and we can’t discriminate against different companies which produce wheelie bins.

“We don’t have a timescale for the process, but once we get approval from the cabinet as to which way they want to go, we will have a better idea.”

Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for leisure and local environment, said: “We have discussed this in great detail and a lot of planning work has gone into this to ensure we have adequate timescales to make the best deal.

“We are tied by EU rules but we will make sure there is a level playing field.”

The introduction of wheelie bins in Darlington, one of the last areas in the country to use black bin bags, has seen a number of concerns raised about their practicality in the town’s terraced streets and for disabled and elderly people.

A joint investigation will be carried out by two of the council’s scrutiny committees, which will look to iron out potential problems before the bins are introduced.