Wheelie Bin Roundup 11th September

Wheelie bin news roundup 11^th September

Residents in Wigan who leave their bins out overnight are being threatened with fines. Stickers are left on offending bins that are left out after midnight on their designated collection day.

Residents have also been warned that the council may remove their bin permanently if they are not clearly marked with a house number.

People are already angry at the frequency of bin collections being reduced to every 3 weeks, and so these warnings are a further source of frustration.

Some residents say they can understand why the council is getting tougher on bins as they can attract vermin, and sometimes arsonists, if they are left out in the street for too long.

The council state that the stickers they place on bins are simply a reminder not to leave bins out, and to number them correctly. They added that if there was a good reason for a bin being left out that a fine would not be issued.

They state that the power to fine residents for leaving their bins out has existed since 1990, under the Environment Act.

Nearby councils like Oldham, Manchester City, Rochdale, Bury, Trafford, and Salford have all stated that they will not be introducing fines.

Residents are still complaining about maggots feeding on waste and bin bags piling up, 3 months after the start of new rubbish collection services in Bridgend. Some residents say that they still have to wait for up to 5 weeks for their bins to be collected.

The private waste firm Kier is responsible for carrying out the collections, and it boosted crew numbers and the frequency of collections to tackle a backlog of missed collections which occurred back in June, but there still appear to be many issues with the new collection service. The council say they are consulting with Kier to find a solution.

A former mayor who threatened to return a council wheelie bin he didn’t want has now been told me must accept a gull-proof rubbish bag. He is one of thousands of residents in Bath who felt like the proposed introduction of a black wheelie bin for non-recyclable waste was being forced upon him, and he subsequently threatened to dump his bin at the steps of the town hall.

Now he has a new battle on his hands as he has been told that he must start using the gull-proof bag. He asked the council for a 70-litre bag as this suited his requirements, but he has been told he must have a larger 140-litre one. Residents who feel they can’t manage the larger bag can request a smaller one however.

Residents have complained that the council is not listening to their needs. The changes to bin collections include non-recyclable waste being collected fortnightly instead of weekly to save money, but many people oppose the introduction of the new bins and bags because they are costly at a time when many face cuts to services.

The council stated that the changes to services will encourage recycling and improve the look of local areas. 61,500 households in the area will get a new wheelie bin for residual waste, and 17,500 will be given a black re-usable gull-proof rubbish bag.