People all over Liverpool are this week being told their bins will only be emptied once a fortnight (purple bins).
It doesn't affect everyone but it does affect a large proportion of households.
At the same time the Council's come up with a new policy on bin collections which has been a lot less publicised than the collection frequency.
You can read the whole document at this link but the key points are:
* bins are supposed to be out by 6 45 am and back in by 8pm on collection day (good luck checking up on that one!)
* if your bin is damaged or stolen you may have to pay for a replacement (there's an element of discretion here but it would be wrong to assume it's all going to be free)
* if your bin is "too heavy" or the lid won't go down, the binmen won't take it Instead there'll be a sticker or a note to say its not been collected because of this. It's then up to you to reduce the load before the next collection . Given the move to once a fortnight, it's not clear exactly where anyone will put this waste in the meantime.
* you can get an extra bin if you have special circumstances. It sounds like these are very limited. (Interestingly a resident in South Liverpool with very special circumstances phoned about the problems fortnightly collections would cause them and instead of being told about this potential option was told to buy a composter. A bit of consistency would be nice)
Some of the things in the policy make sense, but if the Council thinks its a good idea to not empty very full bins on the assumption that the refuse will disappear over the next fortnight it is very, very wrong. Flytipping anyone???
3 comments:
Whilst it's good the Council is encouraging composting and recycling, they need to recognise that some people will fly-tip. This will be very costly to the Council to have to arrange pick-ups to the point where it will cost more to pick up the fly tip than have a weekly refuse collection. It's not just the cost of the fly tip. It's the damage it does to environment and Liverpool's image.
I was surprised to read that shredded docs. must go in the purple bin. I rang to ask why and was told the machines can't deal with shredded paper.
The letter received from the mayor is really bad. He admits that the reason we don't recycle enough is that there are still too many people who don't have recycling bins!
Liverpool's crime figures are so good that there are areas where the council don't want to use bins because of vandalism, etc.
Do people in Garston not realise that people in Kensington have a fuller waste collection service? There, teams sweep in to clear the debris and brush up.
The coloured bin planner is a great idea, it's a pity the colours are not bolder so they help those with poor site.
Did anyone assess those who have a mini bin, or a single bin for a large family? With the old system they may have been OK but the new one may mean they need a bigger/extra bin.
They have missed an opportunity - do we need grass and prunings collected twice a month through the winter?
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