Why are there so few bins in the City of London?

Ever been looking for somewhere to chuck your empty matcha cup in the City of London and wondered, why the heck aren’t there any bins around?

In fact, up until 1993 there were loads of places to dump your litter in the Square Mile. So why were all the rubbish bins removed?

The answer is, unfortunately, a grim one. Central London’s rubbish receptacles were taken away following an incident in the ’90s when the IRA blew up a stolen truck in Bishopsgate, killing one person and injuring 44 people. The bomb wasn’t actually hidden inside a bin, but the City of London thought it would be safe to get rid of all the receptacles to be safe. More than 2,000 bins were removed from the area after the blast.

The Troubles and the IRA are also the reason why there are hardly any bins across the London Underground. In 1991 a bomb that was hidden inside a bin at Victoria station exploded, killing one person and injuring 38. 

After 20 years bins have been gradually reintroduced in the City, but there are still not many around. In 2013 the City of London Corporation added just 20 bins to the area where there were once thousands. A MyLondon investigation in 2016 found that the Square Mile had only 46 public litter bins, and 13 recycling bins. 

So, next time you’re in the Square Mile you’ll have to take your rubbish home with you. 

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