NFDC Letter: “Answering a few questions and misunderstandings about our refuse plans.”
The letter from C Moore (A&T Letters ‘Blood boiling over bins plans’), last week contained a few questions and misunderstandings about our improvements to the refuse and recycling collection for the district. I address these in turn, in the hope that the true picture is evident.
On the claim that this is purely financial. No financial gain is driving our proposals. Plans to change from sacks to wheelie bins is part of a much wider waste strategy, approved last year, which is absolutely about using less, wasting less, and recycling more. The ability to impose fines on households, used successfully up and down the country, is as a last resort which will be superseded with numerous stages that will advise and educate.
We know our residents want to do the right thing, and our job is to clearly explain the system for correct waste and recycling storage and sorting at the household. We will do this so much people will be quite bored of the topic! To that end, no “elderly resident is going to be fined for inadvertently putting the wrong item in the wrong bin”. For example, if a bin contains the wrong material our operatives may simply leave a notice on the bin explaining the issue and informing the resident of the change needed.
I can answer the “are the garden waste wheelie bins going to be too heavy for the operatives to handle?” with a simple no. The capacity, weight, and manoeuvrability has all been well tried and tested and we know that wheeled bins will in fact be easier and safer for our residents and crews to handle, and are recommended by the Health and Safety Executive for exactly that reason. And they will hold twice the volume the sacks currently do.
And I can assure C Moore that the paper and cardboard sack is most definitely waterproof and durable, and even has a lid that seals. And we’ll provide more than one sack to households that need them.
In answer to the question “Ratepayers are going to be fined for leaving the bins on the public highway... residents out at work all day, are they to be fined?” No, this would not happen, the collection policy states bins should be removed from the public highway at the end of scheduled collection day. The policy is put in place to prevent bins being left permanently on the street between collections, and as stated earlier we would first and foremost look to communicate this message directly to the resident in the case of misuse.
Finally, regarding the concern over reusable nappies, there is a wider point to be made here that the UK produced 27.7m tonnes of household waste in 2022, and there are a range of things that our residents can do to reduce the waste they produce, with NFDC playing our part in improving our recycling services. If we all work together we can make a huge difference to our local and global environment.
Cllr Jill Cleary
Leader, New Forest District Council
