SHOPPERS have been stopping and staring in amazement in East Kent towns this week as a giant dustbin has made its way up and down main streets (Graham Tutthill writes).

The motorised bin - three metres high, 2.3 metres wide and with a top speed of 15 mph - is part of an initiative by East Kent councils to persuade people to recycle more of their rubbish.

“We want people to stop and think before they throw away their rubbish,” said Melanie Powell, waste resources officer with Dover District Council. If we don't, we could soon need a dustbin as big as this to cope with all our waste!”

Rethink Rubbish is a national campaign supported by the government, local authorities, retailers and community organisations, to highlight the need to reduce, reuse and recycle rubbish.

The giant bin was in Dover on Monday, it is in Canterbury today (Wednesday) and will be in Deal High Street this Thursday, September 25, and Ramsgate Market, Staffordshire Street car park, on Friday, September 26, between 9am and 4pm.