'Calendar of wheelie bins is a bit of a laugh'

Anna JamesonBBC North West Tonight
News imageBBC Stuart Atkinson has short grey hair and is wearing a blue waterproof jacket. He is leaning against a grey wheelie bin while looking at the camera.BBC
Stuart Atkinson, 57, has photographed bins across Greater Manchester

If there is one thing Stuart Atkinson from Manchester knows about, it is bins.

The 57-year-old is a self-proclaimed lover of the mundane and has previously created a calendar of pylons and of M60 junctions.

Now, he has turned his attention to wheelie bins.

Whether it is Salford's "cheeky pink lid" or the beige and burgundy bins of Bolton, Mr Atkinson covers 10 boroughs, 40 bins, and all the "binformation" you need.

News imageTake The A Frame A brown, blue and green wheelie bin lined up against a fence with Wigan Council branding on in white letteringTake The A Frame
Wigan Council bins are among those featured

"Bin sizes, volumes, colours, frequency of collection, total capacity, annual capacity, and a metric of value based on council tax are all included," he said.

Each month celebrates the bin collection of a Greater Manchester borough.

Mr Atkinson, who is a fan of the British tradition of boring calendars, said he had found people take their wheelie bins very seriously.

"Nobody seems to cares about bins unless something goes wrong," he said.

"People can be quite possessive about wheelie bins."

News imageStuart Atkinson stood in an alley way with lines of wheelie bins the background on a cobbled path
Mr Atkinson said people can be very passionate about their wheelie bins
News imageThe calendar showing January 2026 with a photograph of Bolton's green, beige and burgundy bins
Each month includes a breakdown of different colour bins and relevant statistics

"Someone takes your bin, or puts some of their waste in your bin, or if somebody steals your bin - all hell can break loose," he said.

Mr Atkinson said his inspiration came from sitting in traffic and looking around at things.

The boroughs featured are: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan.

"I think the world's in a bit of a state, so it's just to give everyone a bit of a laugh," he added.

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