Doretta
|
Update February 2008Welcome to our new members.
Rubbish has been very much in the news again with "pay as you throw" pilot schemes being criticised by a Government Select Committee. The criticism is, however, that the plan to give 5 local authorities the power to introduce charging by weight of residual waste does not go far enough! We have been advised that 14 local authorities have applied to Defra to take part in these pilots but no names have been released.
Refuse collection is currently charged within our Council Tax. Under the proposed scheme that element will be removed and charged separately based on the weight of general waste we throw away. Experience in Ireland has been that fly tipping has increased and more people are burning waste in their back gardens to avoid the charges. Neither of these are good for the environment. Large families will, of course, be hardest hit as inevitably they will produce more waste. How much is the administration of such a scheme going to cost? Extra office staff will probably be required to produce accounts for each of us. It will be council tax payers who will ultimately pay these extra costs.
18 councils have now reverted to weekly general waste collections - Preston City Council is the latest to announce the return. As the local elections approach we may see others following suit!
At least 17 councils are operating or proposing weekly food waste collections. This is an acknowledgment that alternate weekly collections do not work. Food waste kept for 2 weeks in high summer temperatures decomposes so rapidly that foul smells and bacteria are produced. Of course this will not solve the problem of other items which have to be placed in the bin e.g. nappies, sanitary products, incontinence pads and pet faeces. It is a start though!
|
