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Readers revolt over bins collection

4:56pm Tuesday 1st May 2007

comment Comments (35)   Have your say »


AS WIRRAL'S battle of the bins continues, so does the confusion caused by more council blunders.

A topical 'hot potato' for hundreds of residents angered by their waste services, this week Globe Online can unveil more of the "recycling hiccups" still sweeping the borough.

"Never mind the song Ten Green Bottles, this is more like Ten Grey Wheelie Bins, it's laughable."

Calls, emails and letters have flooded the newsroom since we printed images of the unemptied wheelie bins that blight our streets.

And comments posted on this website fluctuated to an all time high sparking a torrent of mixed opinions.

Residents are complaining about a whole spectrum of bin issues including unreliable collections, confusion over recycling and the threat of fines.

This week, householders in Gayton Farm Road, Heswall found a delivery of 12 new grey bins, even though they already have them.

One resident said: "The bins look like a row of soldiers, all but three have been there all week standing proud in the middle of the road and causing a terrible obstruction.

"Never mind the song Ten Green Bottles, this is more like Ten Grey Wheelie Bins, it's laughable."

And another resident from Howard Avenue in Bromborough said that the council had delivered a bin collection calendar with dates that contradict those on the council website.

"The council gave out calendars to make life easier for residents by telling them what bin is being collected when, but I was surprised to find that the calendar we received was totally wrong, with the collections all mixed up, it's a joke," he said.

Councils across Britain are abandoning weekly collections in a bid to encourage recycling.

But in recent weeks, the Globe has revealed how a pensioner's efforts were shunned when bin men refused to take his recyclable rubbish because a potato was in the wrong bin - even though it wasn't.

One concerned lady from Broomleigh Close, Higher Bebington said that her brown bin is bulging with stinking garden waste, which hasn't been emptied for a month.

But when she contacted Streetscene, she was told that off-schedule collections mean that the bin won't be emptied for another two weeks.

And now councils face a backlash at the polls from angry voters who are soon to be penalised for putting the wrong bin out on the wrong day.

A council spokesman said: "We are really sorry that the resident in Howard Avenue received the wrong calendar. We will get the correct information out to this road straight away."

And Wirral's director of technical services, Dave Green said: "This is one of the most challenging service changes Wirral has ever faced, requiring a fundamental change in the way people think about their rubbish and deposit waste.

"We would like to thank people for bearing with us through some initial problems, and assure them that we are doing our utmost to ensure they do not occur again. I have no doubt that when these initial problems have been resolved, our recycling rates will prove the new collections are a success."

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Your Say YourWirral Globe

Phil Watkinson, says...
8:46am Wed 2 May 07

I will not rehearse all the same arguments again here - I wrote more than enough on the subject on another thread. But I would challenge the Wirral Globe to present another article outlining the real benefits of the system that is being introduced, instead of constantly harping on about all the negative aspects.

Yes, it is right and proper for the Press to bring to our attention problems with local services, but is it not time for a more balanced view and to try to show a bit of encouragement?

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Phil Watkinson, says...
11:01am Wed 2 May 07

However...I must once again take issue with POOR JOURNALISM:

From the article above - "angry voters...are soon to be penalised for putting the wrong bin out on the wrong day"

Where has this come from? Here, verbatim is the statement from the leaflet that accompanies every grey bin when it is delivered -

"What if I forget to put my bin
out or put the wrong one out?
You will have to wait for your
next scheduled collection.
Check the website for your
collection day, or call us if you
are not sure.
Will I be fined if I put the wrong
items in my recycling?
Wirral has no intention of fining
people who make small mistakes.
However, if we find that certain
homes are consistently using
their recycling bin for other
rubbish we will take action..."

Hardly the same thing, is it? A case of 'never let the facts get in the way of a good story' perhaps?

Report this post »

Joe, Wirral says...
12:46pm Thu 3 May 07

i can't see what the fuss is about. Any transition on this scale is bound to have problems to start with.


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B Williams, wallasey says...
2:13pm Thu 3 May 07

why does the globe keep reporting that binmen thawted a pensioners efforts to recycle. the bin in question was for gardenwaste only,not food&gardenwaste. this was pointed out to the gentleman at the time,he however was not interested in hearing this & decided to phone the globe instead. by the way it was not 1 potato,but halve a dozen potatoes,same of carrots &a bunch of grapes. but hey why let the truth get in the way of a good story...

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Phil Watkinson, says...
2:27pm Thu 3 May 07

You know, I wondered about that story right from the start. I wondered just how eagle-eyed a binman would have to be to spot ONE potato in a binful of garden waste.

OK Wirral Globe - I am 'throwing down the gauntlet'. I assume that someone on your staff reads these messages. If you won't write a more positive article about domestic waste and recycling on Wirral, I'll write it for you - you just tell me how many words you want and guarantee to publish it. Are you up for the challenge?

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Katie, Wallasey says...
3:44pm Thu 3 May 07

If your writing wasn't so mind-numbingly boring, you might be in with a chance!!

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Phil Watkinson, says...
3:58pm Thu 3 May 07

Is that meant to be provocative? If so, it won't work. If, on the other hand, you think you could write a better article, then go ahead, be my guest.


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Mr Bollo, says...
4:42pm Thu 3 May 07

Katie, to be fair to Phil, refuse collection is not exactly the most exciting of subjects to write about. I personally think that the whole issue is a storm in a dustbin…people in this country are never totally happy unless they have something to complain about!

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Alasdair Kirby, Noctorum says...
10:44pm Thu 3 May 07

Well, today is election day and lo and behold, my brown bin wasn't collected on the scheduled day! So instead of sitting in my yard next to the festering green bin with 11 days worth of rubbish attracting flies (and it's bagged), it's at the end of my drive decomposing. It's not rocket science chaps, it's not as if the number of bins changes or the number of roads changes.

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Wendy Dooley, bromborough says...
10:45pm Thu 3 May 07

I put my grey bin out, infact all my side of the street put there grey bin out on the dates we were given but the bin men never came to collect them. A neighbour from the opposite side of the road came over asking why our grey bins were out they had been given different week to ours. I phoned up the help line and they were very abrupt saying I was wrong, I explained what leaflet I had got telling when to put our bins out and we had been given the wrong ones. So one side of the road in Northways Bromborough and one side of the road in Western Avenue had been given the opposite week to the other side of the street. After phoning and eventually spking to somebody they said they would e-mail the person concerned and have the correct leaflets posted. 2 weeks on we have still not had the correct leaflets posted.

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kelly, west kirby says...
11:41pm Thu 3 May 07

when will the streetscene listen people want there green bins emptyed weekly how it was. people like phill and mr bollo are very quick to judge people just because they think this bin thing is a pain like me i was called lazy by mr bollo. phill i rang streetscene again about getting another bin and was told a firm no even if i paid for it at 27.00

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Dante, West Kirby says...
11:33am Fri 4 May 07

Kelly-When will Streetscene listen to people who want their green bins emptied weekly? Possibly never, but don't lose heart, I believe there are a few councils around the country who are reverting back to weekly green bin collection after protests from local residents. This shows of course that this is not just a Wirral problem, it is a problem all over the country. The 60% of councils who have not yet bitten this bullet may well reflect, and decide to give their own particular tax/ratepayers what they want. Unless of course there is a demand from the majority of ratepayers in any of those areas to stop the weekly green bin collection, but something tells me nobody is going to ask for that, any more than they did here, before this change took place.

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Mr Bollo, says...
4:07pm Fri 4 May 07

Kelly, I called you lazy because what you actually said was ‘sorting my rubbish into separate bins is a total pain’. You also said ‘those who want to recycle should at least be given the option to do so’, implying that YOU should get special treatment and be allowed to opt out of any recycling programme.

The bottom line here is, if the Council do not significantly improve on their current rate of recycling, they are going to be FINED by the Government. This means that we ALL end up paying more council tax. I personally don’t want to pay more council tax, and don’t see why I should have to, simple because people like you CAN’T BE BOTHERED.

The argument about reinstating the weekly collection of the Green bin for reasons of public health is an entirely separate one. There seem to be 2 main concerns here;

1. The rubbish will attract rats and flies.

Perhaps someone can explain to me exactly how these rats are going to get into the wheelie bins? Do they come along in a gang with a set of miniature ladders and climb up the side? Possibly they use grappling hooks and crampons to scale the bin? Maybe they will go to B&Q, buy a drill and get into the bin that way. Ditto for the flies. If the rubbish is properly bagged up and inside the bin, with the lid tightly closed, then this is simple nonsense.

2. The bin will smell.

If the smell from your bin offends your middle class sensibilities, buy some stick-on deodorising air fresheners and stick them to the underside of the lid. Problem solved.

This is all a lot of hot air, propagated by poor journalism from the likes of the Wirral Globe, Daily mail et al, who are whipping Middle England up into a frenzy of outrage over something fairly trivial. Our fellow EEC members must be laughing their socks off at this. They have all been recycling successfully for many years now, without any of the palaver that seems to happen in this country every time someone tries to change something. Grow up, stop whining and find something more important to expend your energy on.

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Phil Watkinson, says...
4:26pm Fri 4 May 07

To some extent the recycling debate and the 'weekly or bi-weekly?' green bin debate are linked though. I think there are plenty of people who, given the chance to have their green bin emptied every week, will use that as an excuse to carry on recycling ZERO. You only have to look at how many green bins are over-full on a regular basis in areas that have yet to receive their grey bins. Clearly these people are recycling very little at present. If that is because they do not have the means to do so, then fair enough. But in many cases I suspect it is simply because they cannot be bothered, and allowing them to retain a weekly green bin collection will do nothing to change their attitude.

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Dante, West Kirby says...
4:30pm Fri 4 May 07

Mr. Bollo. We all know rats and flies are much to small to lift heavy drills, especially battery driven ones, which is what they would have to use, because they wouldn't have access to mains electricity would they. I notice your working class chip on the shoulder beginning to show again with your reference to the middle classes. Get over it Mr Bollo, we cannot help what we are.

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Mr Bollo, says...
5:00pm Fri 4 May 07

Dante, I'm not working class, rather I would consider myself fairly classless. Dou you actually have anything constructive to say here, or are are you, as usual, simply going to make some more stupid sarcastic comments?

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Dante, West Kirby says...
5:39pm Fri 4 May 07

Mr Bollo- It was you who brought up the subject of rats and flies nipping into B&Q to buy tools to raid wheelie bins not me. So I naturally thought that was the level of debate you enjoyed. Just trying to please that's all.

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Rob, says...
11:47pm Fri 4 May 07

One problem I have is that I worry that I may not have enough room in my green bin. So I get paranoid. I tear the little windows which you can`t recycle from the envelopes and put them in the grey bin. The windows go in the green bin. Also the half-a-tree booklet that came with my council tax bill went, unread, straight into the grey bin, minus it`s staples of course. I would have put my polling card in too, except that I shredded it, and so can`t go in the grey bin. Anyway, just to be contrary:bin smells. My bin does smell a bit, but only when I lift the lid, or when the lid won`t shut because it is too full when it hasn`t been emptied. The flies and probably the rats too, can gain access at this time without much problem. I believe that there is a shortage of air rifles in the area also, as the rumour has it that the number of rats is on the increase. Wrapping things in plastic bags? I thought plastic bags were one of the biggest problems for the enviroment. They don`t bio-degrade! The supermarkets are desperately trying to cut down on our use of such things. In fact, in a few more years, we probably will have no need to recycle at all the way they are changing the way they pack and supply stuff. Anyway, I suppose some people just resent the way all this has been handled and been forced onto them. I`m fed up with the whole thing now. It will get more exciting when people start falling over brown/grey/green bins which have to be left on the pavement outside the little joined up houses and the claims start going in for compensation!
An idea for a small business venture would be to have someone who sorts your waste out and puts it in the proper bin. He or she could wear white gloves and charge minimum wage.
P.S. I notice some of you post comments during the day. No disrespect intended, but if you have time during the day to spare, it probably is easier for you to recycle or alternatively for you to moan about it or know all the details about how to do it. Seriously, I would like to thank you all for your comments, especially those about class and products available at B&Q.

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Rob, says...
12:07am Mon 7 May 07

How come I`m the last to comment?

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kelly, west kirby says...
9:51pm Mon 7 May 07

trust me you wont be the last to comment on this subject this is going to go on for months. or at least untill the green bins go back to being emptyed on a weekly basis.

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Rob, says...
11:14pm Mon 7 May 07

A lot of my remarks are tongue in cheek. Don`t some folk take it seriously? Mind you, I went for a little walk the other day, and to be honest, some of the streets do look a proper eyesore with green/grey/brown bins all over the place. People have nowhere else to put them, although I`m sure a few suggestions could be made. How on earth did we manage with the old little round bins? The refuse collectors, I think actually W.M.B.C., used to come up your path or into your back entry and take the bin to the wagon. Of course in them days we had open coal fires where a lot of your waste went. Then along came the green monstrosity which had to be put out for them to empty. I remember the moaning back then, people saying the council had lost it`s senses. Will we ever stop moaning? Especially as it does absolutely no good whatsoever? Who`s listening? I don`t think we`ll ever go back to weekly green bin collection, so we might as well get on with it. You have to admire the French sometimes - they would burn the grey bins and go on strike as a nation, until they got what they wanted. We just moan, quietly........

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Ragnar, Brandenburg-Preußen. says...
7:36am Tue 8 May 07

Mr Bollo Perhaps someone can explain to me exactly how these rats are going to get into the wheelie bins? Maybe they will go to B&Q, buy a drill and get into the bin that way.

You obhviously know bugger all about rats. I have seen them jump 2 to three meters. I have also had to weld the holes where they have gnawed through a ships bulk head.
And YOU try and tell us they could not get into a 1 meter tall (?) PLASTIC bin?
You don't happen to work for this lazy incompetent shower of idiots thjat empty, or not, the bins do you?

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Mr Bollo, says...
10:59am Tue 8 May 07

Rangar,

If rats can chew their way through the tough plastic wheelie bins as you claim, don't you think they would be doing it already? Surely we would have all noticed this problem by now?

And even if they can get on the top of the bin by leaping, how exactly do they then open it?

Try again...

Report this post »

steve, west kirby says...
12:03pm Tue 8 May 07

As an advocate of recycling my family does all it can, and I'm sure after the first month it will become clear that we can survive on bi-weekly collections providing none are missed. What I'd like the council to advise is why we cannot put ALL recyclable items in the grey bin; they have restrictions re yoghurt pots, strawberry punnets, take-away containers etc. but these invariably are PET or HDPE and as such totally recyclable. If we are to fully participate then we must be able to recycle ALL packaging that carries the recycle symbol, otherwise we'll continute to fill the green bin to overflowing in two weeks; and with the refusal to take black bin bags on green collection day the green bin may be half full on day 1 of 14, with potentially recyclable items.

If it carries the recycle symbol pop it in the grey bin.

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john, leeds says...
12:59am Wed 9 May 07

I moved from The Wirral to Leeds a few years ago,and the recycling bin here takes anything and is sorted later. I dont see the problem. I got used to it quite quickly and we have fortnightly collections.

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Ragnar, Brandenburg-Preußen. says...
8:15am Wed 9 May 07

Mr Bollo And even if they can get on the top of the bin by leaping, how exactly do they then open it?

Do the bins in the photograph look very secure to you?

If so I think a visit to the opticians may be in order.

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Mr Bollo, says...
9:39am Wed 9 May 07

Rangar, if you bothered to read my original post properly you would have noticed that I qualified my statement about rats not being able to get into the bins by saying 'If the rubbish is properly bagged up and inside the bin, with the lid tightly closed'. Perhaps it is you who needs to visit the opticians.

Try again...

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Ragnar, Brandenburg-Preußen. says...
8:09am Thu 10 May 07

And, due to fortnightly collections, the bags do not fit, what do you do? Hide them behind your couch until bin day?

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Mr Bollo, says...
11:52am Thu 10 May 07

If you manage your waste properly, then it should easily fit, which is the whole point of this debate! We are a family of 3 and our green bin is rarely more than 2/3rds full after 2 weeks. If we can do it, so can everyone else.

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Ragnar, Brandenburg-Preußen. says...
7:59am Fri 11 May 07

And you are t5he PR man for Biffa, right?

Report this post »

Mr Bollo, says...
8:26am Fri 11 May 07

Nope, just an ordinary citizen...

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Ragnar, Brandenburg-Preußen. says...
8:29am Sat 12 May 07

Britain has subjects, not citizens.

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Mr Bollo, says...
12:37pm Sat 12 May 07

You really are one tedious **** aren't you?

Report this post »

Phil Watkinson, says...
8:39pm Sun 13 May 07

And he's wrong. Check the dictionary definitions of 'subject' and 'citizen'. If he wants to be a pedant he should do his research a bit better.

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Mr Bollo, says...
10:41am Mon 14 May 07

He's an ex-copper, say no more...

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