Lauren Goodger claims she doesn't have a bin her house in 'ridiculous' confession

Reality TV favourite Lauren Goodger has sparked backlash after claiming neither she nor the majority of residents in Essex keep a bin in their homes.

The 39-year-old, who returned to The Only Way Is Essex permanently in 2024, recently appeared beside co-stars Elma Pazar, Saffron Lempriere, Courtney Green, and Geordie Shore’s Sophie Kasaei - who joined the programme back in 202 - in what has now become a viral clip.

She questioned her posse: “Has anyone got a bin? In your house, have you got a bin?”

Lempriere said she didn’t with Kasaei confirming she and her partner, TOWIE’s Jordan Brook, didn’t collect trash in the home they share.

“In Essex, we don’t have bins,” Goodger claimed, to which Kasaei replied: “Is that why Jordan’s not got one?”

The Dancing On Ice alumna continued, saying she ‘had never’ had a bin in her house, while Lempriere added: “I don’t like the thought of a bin sitting with rubbish in.”

Instead of using a traditional bin, Lempriere alleged that she would use a bag to collect any refuse during the day before disposing of it in the evening.

The group were horrified to learn that Pazar not only had a bin in her kitchen, but one in her bedroom too.

The conversation between the TOWIE cast has gone viral across social media, and fans and critics alike have weighed in on the debate.

“I don’t have a bin in my kitchen and I’m from Berkshire! Big bag gets filled and chucked outside in the bin every morning,” one Instagram user said. “I find bins dirty.”

Another replied: “I feel seen!!!”

“[And] how much plastic are you using!! All because you don't want an actual bin in your house....Airheads!!!,” said someone else.

A fourth commented: “Don’t be ridiculous the bag is the bin.”

“People who are saying they have a bag they fill and throw away daily….that is effectively a bin,” echoed a fifth viewer. “And where do you keep that bag full of rubbish? On the kitchen side?”

Karin Ridgers, an Essex native, recently spoke to The Sun and claimed she was on Goodger’s side when it came to having a bin-free home.

“Bins stink out the kitchen and cause an awful smell. Why would anyone want that in their home, especially in the kitchen, where you prepare food? I will never have one,” she stated.

How to keep your bins in tip-top shape

Experts at Initial hygiene services have delivered some top tips for maintaining your bins, whether they are in the home or in the office.

These include: regularly emptying your waste to prevent rubbish from rotting; cleaning and disinfecting them weekly; using odour-resistant liners and implementing waste segregation.

New bin rules came into play earlier this year

Earlier this year, the UK government announced its ‘Simpler Recycling’ rules were coming into effect in a bid to streamline bin collections.

Initially introduced by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2023, the drive is engineered to ‘help make bin day easier, by ending the confusion of what can and can’t be recycled’.

From 31 March, most UK dwellers are required to divide their waste into four different types for collection:

• Food and garden refuse
• Recyclable paper and card
• All other dry recyclable materials, including glass, metal and plastic
• Residual waste

Speaking to The Standard, Head of local authority support at ReLondon, Antony Buchan, said: "Simpler recycling is a great thing [...] as it means that we’ll all have access to the same recycling services.”

He continued, claiming London was ‘ahead of the game as most councils already provide the right services to the majority of their residents’.

"And over the coming months, they’ll be working to address any remaining service gaps (for instance providing food waste recycling to people living in flats above shops),”