Wheelie Bin Roundup 27th March

Wheelie Bin Roundup 27^th March

The Scottish Fire Service has revealed that 88 wheelie bins were set on fire deliberately in just 3 months in Dundee alone. This was out of a total of 195 fires which had been started deliberately. Local councillors have expressed their anger at lives being put at risk, and at the amount of taxpayer’s money that it costs to call the fire service out repeatedly due to vandalism. The council have also posed the question of whether there is a better material that bins could be made from, which might not ignite or melt so easily for example.

 The Council in Conwy, Wales, began trialling four-weekly bin collections back in September to try and boost recycling rates, however, there have been concerns raised about the public health implications. There are concerns about an increase in vermin and in fly-tipping, however the council have disputed this and have said there is no evidence of either. Other local councillors claim that residents have told them that 4 weeks is too long between bin collections, especially when they have large families. One councillor said they has been told that some residents were taking their rubbish to public waste bins and that this was attracting vermin and seagulls.

Households with fewer than 6 people living there are allowed one bin, and open or overflowing bins won’t be collected. Recycling and food waste continue to be collected weekly.

The trial was introduced after the council found that it was costing them £1.6 million per year to send waste to landfill when it could have been recycled. The council state that since the beginning of the trial, 507 less tonnes of rubbish have been thrown into wheelie bins.

Residents in a Staffordshire village have to push their wheelie bins around 200 yards from their home to be collected, as the council claim that bin lorries will be damaged going up and down the bumpy road that leads to their homes. The villagers have been asked to leave their bins at the bottom of their street, where there is a dual carriageway, because the road is too uneven for the bin vehicle’s tyres. The council state that bins will not be collected if they aren’t left at the bottom of the road as requested. Residents are angry that some of the people who have to push their bins to the end of the street are elderly. They also state that they were only given 1 weeks’ notice that the bins were no longer going to be collected from their homes.

Residents in Liverpool have been warned that if their wheelie bin is stolen, they will be charged for a replacement, even though they are technically a victim of crime.

Liverpool council said that they will charge residents for replacement bins as it’s the bin owner’s responsibility to keep it safe and make sure it doesn’t get stolen.

The council charges a £20 administration and delivery fee, while nearby Knowsley Council charges £23 for a 240-litre bin and £45 for a 360-litre bin.

Wirral Council said that when your bin is stolen, you’ll pay £24, though in Sefton, a replacement bin is provided free of charge as long as you have a crime reference number from the police when your old one is burned or stolen.

The council advise residents to make sure they can identify their bin, by putting a house number sticker on it, and to keep their bin directly outside of their property when it is due to be collected. They also advise residents to take their bin in as soon as possible after it is collected to deter would-be thieves or vandals.

The council provide the new bin within one month of the old one being stolen, and in the meantime, rubbish should be left in secure bags outside of a property on collection day.

Councils state that funding cuts mean that they can’t afford to replace bins free of charge, and that the amount that a resident is charged for a replacement is actually less than the cost of a bin, the council subsidises the rest.