| Archive for weeklywaste Forum ~ Discussion Board for weeklywaste.com ~ |
| Doretta |
Update December 2007Welcome to all of our new members and thanks for your comments about the situation in your particular locations. Now the weather is cooler we have some relief from the well-documented problems of odours, flies and maggots. It seems more people are experiencing rat problems for the first time, especially in areas where side waste and open lids are banned. Waste is being left in gardens, especially where residents have no transport to take extra bags to the local tips. It is little wonder rodents are on the increase.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/...cle_id=499717&in_page_id=1770 We all pay for an adequate refuse collection service within our Council Tax. Kerbside recycling is welcomed and most of us try to use these facilities. However, there are those who still place ordinary waste in recycling bins. This can result in whole lorry loads being rejected at Materials Recovery Facilities - our efforts are wasted. For this reason, more councils are providing boxes rather than second wheeled bins. Residents are understandably annoyed when the contents of these individual boxes are thrown in a refuse vehicle together after they have separated them! Pay as you throw National newspapers have been reporting this saga - first the Government was reported to have scrapped this idea, then Defra announces a pilot scheme where 5 councils will be selected to trial PAYT. It will be interesting to see which councils request to take part in these trials. The high cost of administration, fly-tipping, using neighbours' bins and backyard burning are predicted to be the result of these trials. It may well have the desired effect of cutting down landfill waste but at what cost to us and to the environment? New local Campaigns for a return to weekly collections are setting up - Swindon and Southport being the most recent. 32 councils are said to have changed political leadership at the 2007 local elections on this issue. Still more councils are introducing alternate weekly collections so this is likely to be a huge factor with voters in May 2008. Ours is a non-political Campaign. We ask for a return to basic hygiene practice where waste is removed once a week. Some councils are introducing weekly food waste collections - this is welcomed but does not solve the problems of disposable nappies, incontinence pads and pet faeces, left to fester and decompose for 14 days. |