A PROPOSAL to remove bins from the city centre to let people ‘appreciate the problem of litter’ has been scrapped.

Oxford City Council included the option of taking bins out of Oxford for a trial period but its executive board has ruled they should remain.

But other measures, such as using images on recycling signs to aid non-English speakers, and offering to collect waste at the end of a students’ tenancy for a one-off fee, will be explored further.

Changes could also be made to the appearance of bins, with a possible new colour scheme and can-shaped holes in recycling bins to be considered.

The city’s recycling rate hit the 50 per cent mark for the first time last August but a Government grant of £350,000 will run out later this year and will not be renewed.

The grant has funded the city’s Blue Bin Recycling League reward scheme, which has seen residents win hundreds of pounds since October 2015.

It has led to the council proposing a series of measures to ensure recycling rates continue to improve beyond October this year.

School visits by the council’s recycling team could also be expanded to reach every school in the city and volunteers recycling champions created.