Readers revolt over bins collection (From Wirral Globe)

Readers revolt over bins collection

4:56pm Tuesday 1st May 2007

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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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