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The shrinking bins: 'Blatant con' of councils who agree to weekly
rubbish collections, but with SMALLER bins

By Tom Kelly
Last updated at 11:23 AM on 18th August 2008

Councils were accused of a 'blatant con' after scrapping unpopular
fortnightly rubbish collections but then slashing bin sizes.

The common 240litre containers for non-recyclable waste are being
replaced with 140litre bins, which campaigners say are far too small for
an average family's weekly refuse.

Binmen will refuse to take away any extra rubbish, and repeat
'offenders' face the threat of prosecution and fines.

Two councils have already made the switch to smaller bins, and it is
feared many more will follow.

There is increasing anger from council taxpayers about the increase in
fortnightly collections of non-recyclable rubbish - highlighted by the
Daily Mail's Great Bin Revolt campaign.

Half of England's 350 councils have abolished weekly collections. At the
last local elections, as many as 30 councils are thought to have changed
hands over the issue, prompting an urgent rethink by many authorities.

But Doretta Cocks, the founder of the Campaign for Weekly Waste
Collection, described the move to reduce bin sizes in return for ending
fortnightly collections as a 'disgrace'.

She said: 'It's a blatant con, but sadly one that is likely to catch on
around the country.

'Councils make a big show of the fact that they're keeping or
reintroducing weekly collections, and then casually add that the bins
will now be much smaller.

'Do they think we are all fools? Everyone can see that keeping weekly
collections is a completely empty gesture if the bin is half the size.
The 240litre bins are already too small for many families, so these much
smaller ones will be a nightmare.

'I've spoken to parents who have been reduced to getting their children
to jump up and down on bin bags in a desperate attempt to squeeze them
into the bins.

'Families who cannot cram all their rubbish in will have to drive to the
tip, which cannot make any sense for the environment.

'It will also lead to an increase in rubbish left on the street, which
will mean more problems with rats, flies and smells.'

Tory-controlled Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire is introducing the
scheme, warning homeowners that extra rubbish left besides the smaller
bins will not be collected. It says legal action will be taken against
those who fail to comply as a 'last resort'.

Roland Dibbs, deputy leader of the council, said: 'We trialled alternate
weekly collections of rubbish but the public would not have it, so we
went back to the drawing board.

'We really do need to make significant changes if we are to reach our
recycling targets and this seemed the most sensible compromise.

'Our bins are now 20 years old and starting to show their age and will
need to be changed, so it seemed a good opportunity to replace them with
new 140litre bins.

'This encourages people to think about what they are throwing away, but
responds to hygiene concerns about alternate weekly collections. '

Conservative- controlled Trafford Council in Greater Manchester will
introduce the new bins next month and will also refuse to remove extra
rubbish, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Last week solicitor Roger Houlker won a two-and-a-half- year battle
against Congleton Borough Council to get an extra bin after saying that
his family often produced too much rubbish to fit in the 240-litre
container it provided.

The father of three claimed binmen would leave any extra rubbish bags on
his driveway, where they were often ripped open by vermin, spreading the
contents over the grounds of his six-bedroomed property.

The local government ombudsman found the council had failed to respond
effectively to Mr Houlker's complaints or make any proper assessment of
the volume of waste generated before making its decision, and ordered it
to pay Mr Houlker £250.

http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/news/ article-1046213/ The-shrinking- bins-
Blatant-councils- agree-weekly- rubbish-collecti ons-SMALLER- bins.html