Sponsored by

OUTRAGEOUS, RIDICULOUS...GREAT IDEA, BOOST TO RECYCLING - READERS AIR THEIR VIEWS ON NEW BIN COLLECTIONS

READERS have been responding in their droves about a new scheme designed to promote recycling in Aylesbury Vale that will mean your household waste will not be collected every week.

Instead it will be collected fortnightly.

The changes are part of a trial scheme being introduced first in Winslow, then Buckingham and, if successful it will be rolled out across Aylesbury and the Vale.

Householders will get a second brown bin which will be used for garden waste. One bin will be collected one week, and the other the next week - meaning your household waste will only be collected fortnightly.

Aylesbury Vale District Council says the scheme will make it easier for people, and will encourage recycling.

But many people are already against the idea, saying that they will not have enough room in their wheelie bin for two weeks' worth of rubbish, and that the overflowing rubbish bags will create an eyesore in the street.

We want to know what you think about the idea, and will publish your views both in the website and in the paper.

Click here to send us your comments.

And see today's Bucks Herald for the full story.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Your comments so far...

The proposed recycling scheme in the area, with fortnightly collections of standard refuse alternating with garden waste and cardboard, is destined to fail in my humble opinion.

My father is an Environmental Services Consultant and has worked in this capacity with a number of councils across the UK.

The most successful scheme in his opinion is the one recently launched in Somerset - a weekly collection of food waste (even cooked food, meat and bones), kerbside recycling and garden waste (for which bags must be purchased or a bin hired, if required), then a fortnightly collection of 'residual waste' (i.e. everything else!)

Using this scheme, the Somerset council aim to increase their recycling figure to 70%! In his very experienced opinion, a fortnightly collection of 'green bin' refuse, which includes food waste (as ours will), just will not work. Smelly bins, ripped open bin bags at the roadside; what a pleasant thought. Our household recycle everything possib le; we have a composter for garden / organic kitchen waste and recycle all our glass, paper, cardboard, tins/cans and plastics. We still manage to fill our green wheelie bin each week. I fail to see how on earth the scheme will work, and would bet money on the fact that in a few months time the council will have to rethink their plans.

May I suggest they visit http://www.recyclesomerset.info/pages/New_services_TDBC.asp#WSDC_kerb and network strongly with this council to get some tips?! It sounds like the ideal scenario to me and I would be thrilled if our council could support us in recycling to this degree.

Kerry Jessett, Queen Street, Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sirs

I operate a wheelie bin cleaning franchise in both the AVDC area and other areas. My father-in-law lives in the trial fortnightly collection area in Winslow and has recently received a pack detailing the new system.

From my direct experience in other areas, I fully agree with comments raised in your newspaper about the fortnightly collection of refuse waste.

We clean our customers bins every four weeks but for a period last summer in Cherwell DC area (Bicester & Kidlington), almost every bin, even those that are usually pretty clean contained maggots. For AVDC to say 'other councils have not encountered major problems' is plain wrong. Although householders have now got used to it, many are still not happy with refuse only being collected fortnightly.

In Cherwell DC, not only is the standard bin nearly twice the size as the AVDC one but households with more than five people in them can receive a free refuse bin that is even bigger.

Although AVDC will collect bags put next to the bins, which most other councils will not, it surely defeats the point of why bins were introduced in the first place which was to keep the refuse contained and not be spread everywhere due to split bags or high winds.

I fully support more recycling but unfortunately AVDC do not seem to have learnt a great deal from other councils about how best to operate such a scheme. Their trial will undoubtedly show them that a rethink is required.

Yours sincerely

James King

VIP Bin Cleaning (Buckingham)

Preston Bissett

BUCKINGHAM

BUCKS

MK18 4DR

www.vipbincleaning.co.uk

-------------------------------------------------------------

I don't see what the fuss is - we are a family with 3 kids, one still has nappies at night and the other are 6 month old twins so you can imagine we go through a lot of nappies (though I use Nature nappies to try and do my bit).

The recycling system works well and if garden waste is to be collected and includes food peelings etc I think there will be very little to throw out.

People need to realise that we need to change and we all need to do our bit. Nobody wants landfill sites or incinerators near them so we need to either make less waste or recycle. We can't have it all. As ever we are quick to moan and react to change but if we'd been doing this off our own backs years ago becasue we cared for our environmnet , do you honestly think local goverment would have to use the stick approach??

Poppy

-------------------------------------------------------------

Sir

I would like to offer my comments on the brown bin debate.

I think it would have help this project if those of us who have been issued with brown bins, as a trial, had been asked if we would use them prior to their issue.

I say this as my household has its own compost maker so would not use the brown bin for garden waste.

In effect the council have cut the refuse collection service to my house by 50%.

Due to my house having no back access my green bin is stored in my integral garage, cleaned weekly and powder disinfectant added.

Two weeks house waste, in the summer, in my garage, Pleeeeze, you are joking.

The empty bin is very heavy, can they image how heavy the bin will become once it is full.

Another case of someone sat at a desk making up these schemes as they did with the glass collection boxes. Please do not get me started on that subject or we will be here all night.

Best regards Sue Alburg

-------------------------------------------------------------

I read your article about the introduction of green bins in Aylesbury with some interest.

We live in Princes Risborough, where such a scheme has been

in place for some months now and I have to say that it works really well. It encourages everyone to recycle and to think carefully about the waste they generate and how best to dispose of it. We cannot go on producing waste at

an ever increasing rate, as we do now. Currently all efforts to recycle more are being overtaken by the increase in waste genration i.e. we are still landfilling as much as ever.

In relation to smells, this is not an issue with the green bins, as the only materials likely to cause a smell are food substances and these can be put in either bin, so are effectively still collected weekly. In fact if food waste is wrapped in paper before being placed in the bin and the lid is kept closed, it doesn't smell anyway.

I would encourage Aylesbury residents to support the scheme and to give it a fair trial. With a little thought, you will find that it works well.

Yours sincerely

Victor Kearley, The Retreat, Princes Risborough

-------------------------------------------------------------

Winslow, chosen for this unpopular trial is probably further away from a refuse tip as anywhere and will have to accept the new bins for the summer.

Most complaints (other than health and safety) are that the Green bin will not hold two weeks' household refuse, and the Brown bin is too large for most peoples garden refuse. So, rather than waste more money let us reverse the bins. i.e. brown for household and use green for the 'green' waste. Sound logical to me.

Frank Palmer, by email

------------------------------------------------------------

My bin is overflowing at the moment and if the collection changed to fortnightly then it would be a huge problem. I think that if they are going to make the collection once a week then they need to give us a bin that is twice as large as the one we have. What happens with babies nappies? the stench from them after two weeks would be terrible.

Charles Towersey

Narbeth Drive

-------------------------------------------------------------

The question I would like the council to answer, is are they going to increase the bin sizes? We will have twice as much rubbish if they only collect it fortnightly and I think they need to increase the size of the bins. They expect us to pay more if we want a larger bin, but that is not fair if they are going to stop collecting every week. The bin we have at the moment is full at the end of the week as it is.

John Powell

Hillington Road

-------------------------------------------------------------

I was horrified when they decided to do this in Thame and wrote to the Thame Gazette about it, at the time there was no threat to our collections in Bucks.

I wholeheardely agree that collecting household waste once a fortnight will be a health hazard in the summer months. Even if like us you compost things and put paper etc in the proper black baskets there are still items which cannot be composted or disposed of in any other way. For instance chicken carcasses, I would possibly have a chicken on Sunday which may still have chicken on for Monday and the carcass could be boiled for stock on Wednesday but if I have missed the collection that week it then sits in the bin for 2 weeks in hot weather._Do the people who think up these ideas have any idea of the real world.

One mum mentions nappies which again there is no other method of disposing of. By all means encourage people to seperate their waste and to compost as much as they can, but anyone without a garden does not have the facilities to compost or in deed need to compost. Which leads me in to Brown bins.

Yes what a good idea BUT my mother in law an active but frail lady of nearly 80 ,scarified her lawn last year and put the grass in her wheelie bin, she then wheeled it out to the front of her house but it was not collected ,so she rang the Cherwell council to be told that it was too heavy and the bin men refused to take it. I am afraid she was furious and they came up the next day to empty the bin.

If it was fine for a frail elderly lady to move to the front how come the bin men were too frail to empty it? Could this be the scenario in Bucks , because you can bet if people have a brown bin, they will fill it to the brim. I would in the summer if I had no other method of disposing of my garden clippings etc; Until manufacturers stop packaging everything to the hilt, there will be more and more waste. AVDC get enough out of our council tax to give us a good refuse collection service.

However whilst I writing I would like to say thank you to the bin men who cover Long Crendon, they do a good job which not many people would enjoy doing and please do not make them have a harder task by having putrid rubbish to collect after 2 weeks out in the sun.

Mrs L.A. Charnock

Chilton Road

Long Crendon

-------------------------------------------------------------

I note that Mr David Smedley is reported in this weeks Bucks Herald as saying " we will allow side waste during trials, other council do not". Given that AVDC has bins almost half the capacity of the other councils this is not a wonderful concession.

Mr Smedley treats us as fools if he thinks we will be grateful for such a small mercy.

Council taxpayers, do not be misled. Mr Smedley is a council functionary. He should be doing what councillors tell him to do. We elect councillors, we can also un - elct them. A fact councillors should be reminded of in no uncertain terms. Keep up the pressure or we will be landed with a reduction in services.

Bill Slaven

Haydon Hill

-------------------------------------------------------------

I have read with interest the letters in this week's Bucks Herald regarding the council's trial to collect green waste alternately with household waste.

Whilst I am not a martyr in recycling I like to think I do my bit; my household recycles glass, plastics, paper, cardboard and aluminium whilst using a compost bin for our garden and kitchen waste. However, the council's proposal to collect general waste every two weeks does fill me with horror.

The thought of having to walk the streets of Aylesbury, or even sit in the living room with the windows open, with a constant rotting smell in the air is not a pleasant thought.

Having said this, the council hasdone something right - they have opened people's minds to the need to recycle as much as possible.

On your letter page one mother refers to her bin being full of nappies - why is she not considering other alternatives. My children were raised in terry nappies, a budgetary requirement as well as an environmental one but none the less a decision which made us feel better in trying to help our children's environmental future.

It took little of our precious time and as all parents know, most children are potty trained within a couple of years. Other letters constantly referred to kitchen waste - I assume this means leftovers.

Why are people not putting leftovers out for the birds?

This does not attract vermin such as a bag of cooked food would as the birds very gratefully receive such leftovers and consume it in minutes - a birdtable is not even required. Surely people remember their parents doing this and even Blue Peter and other programmes teaching us how to make fat balls during the winter - it doesn't just stop at wintertime!

The RSPB ask us to feed birds and people go to costly lengths buying prepared fatballs and nuts but putting out leftovers and home-made fatballs is a non-costly way to feed our feathered friends.

My last comment is that because I recycle as much as possible our standard sized bin for our family of four is never completely full (except for Christmas and birthdays of course but I think the odd time is allowed!).

I would ask the council to provide people with as many recycling ideas as possible before even making a decision about new collection schemes and perhaps review the companies who recycle our waste so that as much as possible can be recycled and not sent to the landfill sites.

The council must be seen to do their bit if they expect it of us.

Cathy Taylor, Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

I think they are a disaster, and when I requested a larger bin was required to pay 10 more than I could have purchased one independently. I wasn't able to purchase independently because I was told that because they weren't supplied by the council they could not be collected.

Angela Willson

Edlesborough

-------------------------------------------------------------

Please tell us poor beleaguered motorists how we get round Aylesbury, when there is no by-pass … ? There are plenty of us who have to drive through Aylesbury to get to work …

Kate Wyke, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

We are a household of 2 adults and 1 child.We paid for our own compost bin to recycle all that kind of waste. We recycle all our plastic,cans,bottles and paper and even take our cardboard to the local recycling centre and still have a full bin every week.

Where do they think we are going to put two weeks worth of rubbish? When a friends council started doing this they even refuse to take extra bags and leave them beside her bin each weekAylesbury Vale need to rethink this idea and start living in the real world!!!!

Mrs Jill Fleet

Crispin Field

Pitstone

-------------------------------------------------------------

I think the fortnightly collections are going to be a big problem. It's only me, my husband and my son in our house and our bin is overflowing each and every week.

I recycle everything and it stills overflows! My main problem is where do I keep my bags because I don't want them all over the road and what about the health and safety aspect, we already get mice eating through the bins when they overflow as it is.

Are the council going to give us bigger wheelie bins if this comes in and is council tax going to do down because our services are? I think more people will fly-tip and dump their rubbish in parks, I think there is going to be a big problem.

Aylesbury mum Abi Buckle, 29, of Fairford Leys

-------------------------------------------------------------

This scheme has been running in High Wycombe for some time now. At first we were against it for the reasons expressed by many of your readers, with a large family we were worried that we would generate too much rubbish and overspill.

However it has worked very well.

There are the odd occasions when the general rubbish bin is full and we have to wait before it is emptied again but these are surprisingly rare and the 'green' bins allow us to also dispose of all our garden waste, which is a great benefit.

Overall this scheme works but, as always, there will some be who don't like it and the size of each bin is important.

Jeremy Pinner

-------------------------------------------------------------

I'm all in favour of recycling as much waste as possible but the latest proposals from AVDC are frankly ridiculous. In my part of Aylesbury each household already has a green wheelie bin, 2 waste baskets for plastics, cans and newspapers and a container for glass: adding another wheelie bin for garden waste is a step too far.

I already recycle all green waste plus some types of cardboard in a composter which I purchased from AVDC, so my

garden waste bin will remain empty fo about 90% of the time. Further, has any thought been given to the health, safety and hygiene issues which will inevitably arise with household waste such as food leftovers and the like

sitting in a wheelie bin for 2 weeks awaiting collection?

AVDC needs to re-think this proposal.

Colin Grant

Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

How stupid! Not only will there be overflowing bins and split black bags but it will encourage vermin everywhere.

No, definitely no!

Regards

Helen White

-------------------------------------------------------------

I was really pleased when I heard that the Council was considering doorstep collections of garden refuse - but I had some concerns once I heard that collections of 'standard' rubbish would become fortnightly.

This will not pose a particular problem for me now that I'm living on my own - other than I don't relish the smells should we have a reasonable period of summer weather - but when my children were home our bin was full every week, even though I have always made a point of recycling as much as possible.

I also wonder where we are supposed to store all these bins - more and more are being left at the front of houses. I know some continental countries apparently recycle far more than we do here, so perhaps we should be learning some lessons from them - do they make more use of communal bins, perhaps screened from passing view?

Christine Dodds

Winslow

-------------------------------------------------------------

Re: your front page headline (12 April) on AVDC's plans for a green waste collection.

I support what AVDC are suggesting. And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not employed by AVDC.

I am, however, involved professionally in recycling. And if we want to get to grips with out waste as a nation, we're going to have to make changes like this, in order to increase recycling rates.

Those who oppose the scheme, including the Bucks Herald itself, should stop being so short-sightedly parochial, and investigate how other schemes of this kind have worked in practice elsewhere in the country.

The objections being made here are made every time such a scheme is proposed. Then it is introduced. And on very few occasions do the concerns raised initially turn into reality. All over the country, councils are collecting residual waste every two weeks without any health or hygiene problems emerging.

Stop putting your heads into the sand, and try to find constructive ways to improve our recycling performance. I don't notice the Bucks Herald coming forward with alternatives to the proposed green waste collection. When you do, I'll be listening.

Helen Mahon, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

I would just like to add my bit to the Wheelie Bin saga.

I live in the flats at Hampden Gardens in Southcourt and each block is given just 1 small wheelie bin per flat and in particular the flats above the Hampden Gardens shops have even less than 1 each.

The bins are kept out the back of the shops and average at 1 small size bin for every 2 flats and I think this is disgusting, especially so as those bins also get used for the waste coming from the shops which leaves even

less waste bin space for the flats tenants.

On any given day you could walk along through the backs of these flats and you would see bags and bags of rubbish sitting around outside the security doors whilst the bins themselves are overflowing, and yes I do realise that there are some tenants in these flats that dont even bother using the bins and prefer to just dump their rubbish on the ground outside the doors, but the majority of us do have the decency to try and put our rubbish in one of the bins but quite often we are forced to place it on the ground beside the overflowing bins.

This in turn encourages the local wildlife and pet dogs and cats to rip open the bags and leave the rotting rubbish smeared all over the place.

I understand that the amount of rubbish that is dumped by some residents outside the back of these flats, not all of it is household rubbish, is a problem and AVDC must despair of the mess that is often found behind these flats, and in all fairness to AVDC every so often they send trucks round and clear the whole of the area of all the rubbish that should have been taken to the local tip by residents who seem to think that it is ok to use that area as a dumping ground for all their old furniture and mattresses etc.

Perhaps if AVDC were to place the larger wheelie bins outside these flats it would leave less rubbish sitting on the ground, and even though there will still be some who prefer to just dump their rubbish bags on the ground, at

least it will give the rest of us decent residents the chance to keep our area that little bit cleaner !

As for the idea of collecting the rubbish once a fortnight instead of weekly, well, I can't even begin to comment on that, the mess at the back of my flats will be 10 times worse and 10 times more smelly, especially so in the summer months !

Janice Letts

by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

We are responding to your request for replies regarding the proposed green Waste trial and the possibility of having fortnightly household waste collections, rather than weekly.

We have just moved into the area from Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire and they seemed quite capable of collecting household waste weekly and having fortnightly recycling collections for paper, plastic and cans, glass and

green waste, which included cardboard.

We recycle as much as we can here - paper, plastic and cans and glass and have just bought a composter for garden waste.

However, we would not be in favour of fortnightly waste

collections, which could be a health hazard, particularly in summer when food unsuitable for recycling is thrown away. We feel that if other councils can do this successfully, it should also be possible here without increasing council taxes.

We will be interested to see other responses.

Mr & Mrs R Barber

Aylesbury Road

Wing

------------------------------------------------------------

My reaction to your story about brown wheelie bins depends on what the truth is about what waste is to be put in them.

Your front page implies that the brown bins will only be for garden waste.

If this is the case then what AVDC should do instead of imposing another wheelie bin on us is to improve the green bag scheme. I stopped using this because I had to buy the bags, there were few outlets which sold them and I found they were mixed with the general waste and not recycled. Rather than have an extra bin, the green bags should be free of charge, delivered to households and separated from the general waste.

On page 3 however, your quote from Cllr Stainer suggests the brown bins would also be used for cardboard. This is a different matter entirely as a lot of household waste is cardboard. If this is the case then I would not mind having a brown bin but there needs to be some options. The bins should be available in 2 sizes, like the green bins are, and people should be able to choose the size that suits their size of garden. Secondly, people without gardens or very small gardens should be able to opt for a basket to just put cardboard in.

Peter Rayner

-------------------------------------------------------------

The AVDC trial is a stealth tax hiding under another guise. I live out in the country and have no need of garden waste collection.

The main rubbish collection is what needs the attention and cutting it in half will pass problems and costs from AVDC to the residents. It will reduce AVDC costs as they admit but residents will not see a reduction in Council Tax.

In the countryside we get virtually nothing from AVDC apart from rubbish collection for the out of control council spending who like the Government seem to think that they can have a free and first claim to the nations earnings.

One day the day of reckoning will come and it will stop them in their tracks.

Regards

Peter van den Broek

Wottom Underwood.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I write in praise of AVDC's bold move to trial an alternating collection of wheelie bins waste and green waste/ cardboard.

However, I have two comments on this scheme. Firstly, food waste left in a wheelie bin for a fortnight will smell and may attract the local wildlife! This trial should provide a weekly collection of kitchen food waste with the green/card waste.

The Landfill Directive means that every council is under a statutory duty to reduce the biodegradable element of the waste stream going to landfill.

If households were provided with a lidded bucket for food waste, this could be collected along with the green waste and put into a smaller compartment of the same collection lorry. Food waste must go to in-vessel composting at a high temperature to remove all pathogens, whereas green waste can be composted using an open windrow system.

Secondly, I do not support the introduction of yet another wheelie bin for the green waste. Instead of having a second wheelie bin we should be given a few easily lifted strong open canvas bags that can be folded up when not in use. Homeowners could be given several of these reusable bags. They could then carry them around the garden to fill up (if they don't compost themselves). An open bag would enable collectors to see what was in the bag and reduces the chance of building debris etc being sneaked in, which would contaminate the green waste.

Whilst a fortnightly collection of residual waste is good idea, we should have a weekly collection of food waste. A weekly collection of recyclables would obviously encourage people to sort their waste and put less in their wheelie bin.

Rachel Gershon

Aylesbury Vale Friends of the Earth

-------------------------------------------------------------

I agree very strongly about recycling but as we don't have a car nor do we drive it will be hard for us to recycle as much as we would like. Does this mean that the council are going to give us more baskets to put stuff in and are they going to collect them like they do with the glass and papers?

And as for the brown wheelie bin for garden waste...I think that is a good idea as it will save my the cost of keep buying those silly little bags for putting garden waist in that always seam to slit.

Randal Cheney

-------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for publicising the new District Council "Green Waste" initiative.

Whilst I have no objections to the intentions in principle, I do object most strongly to the eventual widening of this Scheme if the Council haven't taken cognisance of the simple fact, that most of us would not have enough room in our small waste bins for two weeks of household rubbish.

Before anyone at the Council seeks to suggest that this is because my bin, has been used to receive too much waste that could be recycled, I would hasten to add, that we recycle everthing that the Council have indicated,(except cardboard) and have recently even added a second Composting Bin to the garden to receive food leftovers that we had been until recently putting in bags in with the household waste.

Despite there being only two of us at our house regularly, we do have periods when we have the grandchildren with us after school each week and visits from family which do sometimes, I acknowledge, create more refuse than we might generate if only the two of us were always alone, but the bin is usually well stuffed by Sunday and that is every week!

For this reason, I want to have it placed on record, that this fortnightly collection of household waste would only be acceptable if we were issued with the larger bins which some households with more than two resident have already had issued by the Council.

I am actually at a loss to know why the Council consider it necessary to have bins for intermittent collection of garden waste, since I never have occasion to need collection any of this, despite the fact that my garden is at least 110 feet long. I would have thought that it would have been far better, if the Council had decided to provide recycling collection for cardboard, which I do have (as indeed do most of my neighbours ) in vast amounts, which I tear up and burn in a garden incinerator because I am not prepared to make a tiresome journey to the Civic Amenity Tip where mostly I would be obliged to queue for ages just to dispose of it into a recycling environmemt.. It would I am sure, help the Government's targets for recycling more, to provide for fortnightly cardboard collections, which would doubtless be more Green, than garden waste , if you will forgive the pun.

Yours (green already but not impressed) faithfully

Peter Robinson

Tring Road, Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

The introduction of a fortnightly collection of Green Wheelie bins may encourage households that don't currently recycle anything to get involved in the process, but I believe households that currently do participate will have difficulty in storing the volume of remaining waste for a fortnight.

Analysis of material put into Wheelie bins show a significant amount is packaging from food and consumer products that are not within the current classification of 'collectable' recycling material.

There are many types of plastic and polystyrene trays and containers used in food packaging that have no labelling or have labelling but the council does not have a recycling provider that can handle these products.

There is a significant amount of card and cardboard that can only be recycled if these are personally taken to the Refuse Tip. I would have thought a better use of the brown Wheelie bins would be for the collection of paper and card for which recycling processes exist.

I have also seen in recycling literature suggestions that the consumer should avoid purchasing products in packaging that are not recycleable. This is not something down to individuals, this is for the enviroment agencies to be working with industry to develop cheap recycleable packaging and to look at the overkill in some of the packaging that is out there.

One thing is for sure and that is busy people do not want to spend their time scrutinising every piece of plastic packaging to see if it is a 'collectable' recycling candidate. Likewise the official request for food can recycling is to remove all labelling, clean the can out and crush to minimise space. Local councils have got to use the KISS principle for it all to work.

Yours faithfully,

Richard J.J.Mott

-------------------------------------------------------------

Another idea mooted not, to suit the people of Aylesbury Vale but to pander to this Government's rigid target system. I imagine it is also a nice little earner for the council and the private contractor that wins this contract (put me down for the October to February collections).

Ian Mitchell

Westcott

-------------------------------------------------------------

We would like to say that we fully support the Green Waste Trial as part of improvement to our recycling efforts as a county.

We feel we all should support this kind of venture and also that perhaps it is necessary to encourage and remind people of the necessity of recycling for the future well-being of our environment.

Regards,

Keith & Lyn Butler

Aston Clinton

------------------------------------------------------------

Have our councilors collectively taken leave of their senses? In proposing fortnightly household waste collection they are posing a serious risk to public health and reducing Aylesbury services to a third world level.

During the recent public workers strike our waste collection interval became 2 weeks and the odor of decay emanating from the bin was awful. This was during a period of quite cold weather. It does not take much imagination to understand that in hot weather the problem will become really serious

especially in high density housing areas. Have any of the councilors involved in this decision thought to get opinions from Environmental Health on this issue?

It is not just a question of risk to the heath of the

community at large. What about the AVDC work force expected to collect this garbage in a high state of decay? Is their job not unpleasant enough already? I lived in Northern France for 3 years and our dustbins were emptied daily (except Sunday!). A weekly service becomes very marginally

acceptable in hot weather, a fortnightly service is unhealthy, dangerous and is an unimaginably stupid proposition.

From your report it would appear that the sole justification put forward by Cllr Sir Beville Stanier is to avoid

financial pressure and meet central government targets which are set without any concern with the problems they can cause. If we take this narrow thinking to its ultimate conclusion why not cease all waste collection and revert to the middle ages where garbage was just thrown in the street?

Barry Lynch - Dinton

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Editor,

I moved into my property in Aston Clinton in May 2003 with my wife and 1 year old daughter. When we arrived we had a small green bin which was not big enough to house the rubbish that were producing and we were having to put out at least another 4 bags aswell. I called the council to request a bigger bin and was told that I would have to pay an extra 35.00 for this bin as we did not have 5 or more people living at the property. Since then we have had another child so there is now 4 people at our property and we are using the small green bin and leaving out at least another 6 bags of rubbish.

I believe in recycling and use 4 different black bins for this. If this new scheme of only collecting bins on a fortnightly basis gets the green light I will have at least 12-15 bags of rubbish outside my property.

I feel that this would be totally unacceptable as this could cause a health hazard and having 2 young children playing in the garden I would not want them to have to come in contact with rotting rubbish that is in our garden.

Also, there is a problem with rodents in our area and this would only add to that problem. AVDC should supply every household with another bin of the same size as the one that they currently have to house 2 weeks worth of rubbish.

We would also like to point out to you that last year, after receiving our council tax bill, the AVDC were encouraging us to use compost bins, adding a leaflet of a supplier of these bins at a discounted rate. We did purchase 2 of these bins.

It seems to us that AVDC are only planning 12 months ahead. What will they do once they realise that this scheme is not working and rubbish is mounting up in the streets? I assume that there will be another increase to our council tax to battle that problem!

I disagree with what Councillor Stanier said in the paper regarding saving money. Our council tax is increasing each year yet we are getting less of a service for it! Surely spending money on buying another refuse collection vehicle would be more beneficial than having to tackle a refuse problem later on?

I work in Harrow where this scheme has already been introduced and the streets are littered with brown bins unused. I suggest Councillor Stanier takes a visit to Harrow to see just how the scheme doesn't work. We have a small yard in Harrow and we have at least 6 of these bins that have been dumped by local residents.

I don't see how this scheme will benefit anyone and the council would be better saving the money and investing in a new collection vehicle and crew.

Jason Peterson, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't long ago that we were encouraged by AVDC to purchase composters to re-cycle garden waste as manure.

This has been used successfully in our garden for the past three years, and ensures that we no longer have any garden waste to collect.

Surely to encourage this policy would be far more environmentally friendly and cost effective than the prospect of leaving household waste festering for two weeks in a wheelie bin.

This seems to be another example of the AVDC getting their priorities completely wrong (i.e. Kingsbury water feature).

The Green Waste trial certainly does not get my support.

Chris Vesey

-------------------------------------------------------------

A few thoughts - I have experience of where a second bin has been introduced and 'normal service' reduced to once a fortnight in a couple of places and there appear to be major differences from the trial proposal (unless not all the details were available in this week's article).

Firstly, the normal bins are twice the size of the ones we have had to put up with for years, and secondly, instead of bulky, lidless baskets, different coloured recyclable plastic sacks are issued for plastic and paper, reducing the storage problem when one has nothing to put into the relevant container.

Also, the types of plastic that can be put into the plastic sack are legion, and certainly include containers from microwaveable meals, etc. All kinds of paper (though not cardboard) can go in the paper sack, including window envelopes.

Apart from (apparently) the possibility of putting cardboard into the 'garden' bin I would have little use for the latter, as our garden 'rubbish' is utilised in the garden - there would just be yet another bin to find a place for. Comments have been made re odours from the bins when left for a fortnight - if householders were on holiday when the collection happened to be due, an even longer period would elapse before the contents were eventually removed.

It would seem that far more than the provision of an extra bin needs to be addressed before these recycling proposals would be acceptable to most people.

Val Turnham, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

I've had a very long discussion with AVDC on this issue and I am disgusted with their negative response. They are not interested in the health and safety side of things and the stench there will be when the bins are left outside for two weeks.

I have put to it to them that I, and many others, hire a private company to clean and disinfect the wheelie bins every month. Why do you think we do that? Because they smell! I object to the system and in my case I am in a wheelchair so my wife will have another bin to lug up and down. Then they threaten us with the tax going up, is this blackmail? We already pay enough as it is!

Roy Hemsman, 73, of Broughton

-------------------------------------------------------------

Fortnightly collections will mean smelly rubbish in the streets with cats and dogs scavenging.

Also many polluting little dustbin lorries( private cars) queuing at the dump.

Peter Westerman, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

Sirs

Have just read the report on the proposal to collect household waste fortnightly and am quite rightly concerned.

Are we going to be given a second green bin ? There are two in our household. I compost all garden, vegetable and fruit waste in four compost bins, my plastic and tins basket overflows every fortnight, as does my newspaper basket and bottle bin.

My green bin is full every week. I do not put garden rubbish in the green bin as I have a shredder, so would not use the brown bin. We take all other rubbish to the tip. What happens in the summer when kitchen waste starts to rot and stink because it is there for two weeks ? The idea seems like a health hazard in waiting to me.

It is encouraging people to dump rubbish on the side of the road or in fields. A rotten idea quite literally. Distict Council, think again please.

Sheila Brown, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

It's alright saying they are picking up fortnightly but they haven't even thought about mothers with babies who have nappies in their bins. When the bin men were on strike, when it wasn't even hot, the bin stank!

No-one has mentioned this, only food and our bin is right next to our front door and we could smell it in the house, it was so bad and this will be terrible, especially in the summer.

Michelle Chisholm, of Stour Close, Walton Court

-------------------------------------------------------------

If AVDC goes ahead with its plan for just a fortnightly collection of household waste in a town the size of Aylesbury, it is going to create a huge public health issue.

Imagine the hot summer with the stink of 'cooking' rubbish, the flies, bugs and potential attraction of disease spreading vermin like rats.

There is much less garden refuse generated than general household waste, so why does the council rank collection on a 50/50 basis?

If AVDC expects the residents of Aylesbury to put up with such a big reduction in the general waste collection service, then the residents can reasonably expect a big reduction in their council tax.

Personally, I think it's a cynical window-dressing exercise by AVDC politicians to give the impression of meeting recycling targets, without realistically achieving anything - except upsetting the electorate.

Kind regards,

Geoff Sleight

-------------------------------------------------------------

Lucky Winslow! I wish that Oakley was having the wheelie bins for garden waste, it would be such a big help. It takes ages cutting things up to fit in bags and then taking them to the tip, as everything won't go in the compost bin.

By taking cardboard to either the tip, or Tesco's for re - cycling there is more room in the wheelie bin, and personally I wouldn't find it a problem if it was collected every two weeks. However I can see it would be more difficult for big families. On the whole I think AVDC do well with their waste collection and re - cycling.

Helen Slaymaker, 18 Sun Crescent Oakley.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I am writing with regard to your article about household waste being collected fortnightly.

I have to agree with the people that have responded to your article in the paper I think we should have our bins emptied each week as we pay enough for our council tax and dont seem to get much in return. Our bins are too small to compensate for 2 weeks rubbish and the smell would be terrific, it would attract rats, maggots etc why should we have to suffer this and like one of your readers said it would be even worse in the summer months.

I cannot see the necessity for a garden bin it would make more sense to empty the rubbish bin.

We do not see much in the way of returns for the taxes we pay and this is one service we really do need to stop vermin.

Jacqueline Taylor, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

You have to start in Aylesbury first to see if this scheme works, as we are the biggest town.

But emptying bins every 2 weeks will not work. The collection on Southcourt is every monday the vehicle has to make 2 trips to the land fill to empty and return and that is for 1 weeks collection. If you do it every 2 weeks can you imagine it would take at least 2 day to do southcourt, waste of fuel and money. first of all the trips to the land fill would be at least 3 to 4 trips and then you would have to pay the crew overtime, thats if they want to do it. Mounds of rubbish would pile up outside peoples houses, we would need more litter pickers at the cost of tax payers money so were the hell do we save on recycling when rubbish will be all over the estate more pollution from the vehicle which will be more than one on the road AND THE BIGGEST thing which will happen the tax payer will get the bill. LEAVE THING AS THEY ARE NOT BROKEN NO NEED TO FIX.

Thankyou Billy Jennings

-------------------------------------------------------------

I think the idea of brown wheelie bins for garden waste such a good idea. But I do think that household refuse should be collected each week. The bins are full after a week with 3 or more in a household. Perhaps the brown bins could be collected each month as with glass.

Joyce Salewski (Mrs)

-------------------------------------------------------------

I support the whole idea of recycling green waste, however not at the expense of our weekly household rubbish collection.

No green rubbish is ever put into our bin, as we already have three compost bins.

Our weekly bin is still always full, even though we extract tins, plastic, newspapers and cardboard and use the Household Tip for larger items.

In reality, as a family we find it impossible to recycle any more items to reduce our weekly full bin. Therefore to reduce the weekly household collection to fortnightly is ridiculously unacceptable.

L. Travers Smith, Aylesbury

------------------------------------------------------------

Sir,

Let me add my opposition to the trials of fortnightly waste collection. I have had personal experience of fortnightly waste collection and garden refuse on the alternate week.

At Telford this scheme was introduced despite widespread opposition, there I had a wheelie TWICE THE CAPACITY of the one I have now and, because the bin men would not take refuse where the bin lid was not fully closed, I had to take refuse to the amenity dump.

My bin did have a dreadful smell, especially during warm weather, the local council officials suggested double wrapping refuse to reduce odours - hardly the way to reduce waste.

It is almost impossible to persuade council officials that no "green" garden waste is produced in the winter months when the collection on alternate weeks will produce nothing.

Make no mistake, this is about the council saving money and to heck with council tax payers.

The way to reduce waste is to personally fine the managing directors of manufacturers who unnecessarily double and treble wrap goods, fining the companies would only result in customers being charged extra to compensate.

Council tax payers, revolt. We have the voting power to make councils provide us with services we demand, target your councillor. Demand value for the exhorbitant sums we already pay.

BELIEVE ME, THIS WILL BE A REDUCTION IN SERVICE.

W J Slaven

Eliot Close

Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

As a keen environmentalist, I was looking forward to the garden waste/cardboard collection being implemented in Aylesbury Vale, but am disappointed to learn that this will mean fortnightly collections of ordinary household waste.

I have just moved to the area from Leighton Buzzard, where household waste and recycling (via the 'orange bag' scheme) is collected weekly, with garden waste collected fortnightly, as an additional service, rather than as a replacement of the ordinary waste collection. Why can't the same system operate here?

It is wonderful that Aylesbury Vale Council is encouraging green initiatives, but the system is already somewhat complicated (recycling collected every fortnight, glass every fourth week) and I feel it needs simplifying to encourage those more reluctant householders to participate. Unfortunately, not every item of waste is suitable to be composted!

R A Chapman

-------------------------------------------------------------

I recycle as much as I can anyway and I always have extra bin bags every week. The green bins are not big enough and the council want 40 for a bigger one.

With all the extra bags by the side it will be a breeding ground for rats and, as a mother, I have to think about the welfare of my children. I think it's disgusting to be honest and they are throwing the threat that council tax will go up if we don't bring in these recycling schemes.

Even now we have to be wary of cats and birds getting at the bags so it will make a bad situation ten times worse!

Melanie Elliott, 33, of Meadowcroft

-------------------------------------------------------------

Last week all the bins around here were full up to the top and that's on the weekly collection! What's it going to be like after a fortnight? It's all very well bringing the trial scheme in now but what is it going to be like when it gets very hot? The bins are going to smell awful, it's just not on.

Malcolm Walker, of Arundel green, Elmhurst

-------------------------------------------------------------

My argument is this, I religiously wash every jar and put the bottles in the recycle bin. I recycle all my kitchen waste and it goes in my compost and I save my newspapers as well.

It is just not going to be viable to use the small green bin for a fortnight, even with all the recycling I do. I will have extra bags and so if this is going to be introduced everyone will have to be issued bigger green bins.

The council are going about this in the wrong way and if it does happen I think there will be a lot more dumping of rubbish everywhere and fly tipping because people won't want bins scattered everywhere, especially when cats and the like can get at them. The council should think very, very carefully about this.

Valerie Taylor

-------------------------------------------------------------

We've lived her for 39 years and our rates used to be 18 a year, now they're 1,500! That's almost a third of our pension and if you haven't got children in education, which we now haven't, then household waste collection is one of the main things we get for our money, along with street lighting.

We've just seen our library services cut and what is going to happen over back holiday collections because there is enough disruption and confusion as it is at the moment. We also saw with the recent strikes what the situation is like when the bins aren't collected for a week. We're paying for a service we won't be getting, if they halve the council tax then that's fine, but we all know that's not going to happen.

Paul Oakford, 75, of Ickford

-------------------------------------------------------------

I live in the Wycombe District Council area and we have had the bin system for over a year. The problem faced by a number of people is that during the summer months the food in the green bins attract blue bottles and maggots. I suggest that during those months the green bins are collected weekly as even when the food is wrapped in paper the maggots still get in.

Dennis Green, Monks Risborough

-------------------------------------------------------------

I live in Bicester and we have had it (fortnightly collections) for well over a year. I suppose the knee-jerk reaction is complain about it but it's a very good idea and works well because you find yourselves recycling a lot more.

Geoffrey Wilkins, Bicester

-------------------------------------------------------------

I am writing in response to your advert in the Bucks Herald re: - the new recycling proposals. I live in Aylesbury and I was disappointed to hear that the trial will not be reaching me until possibly the end of the year. As an avid recycler I am most definitely for recycling everything that we can and believe the complainers are those who do not recycle nor care about our environment. If people recycled more there would be no need for weekly collections and the bins would only 'smell' if food was put in the bins instead of being composted. At the moment I take all excess cardboard to the recycling centre at Rabans Lane and having a doorstep collection would certainly make my life a lot easier. I would ask those who are complaining about the refuse collection proposals to look at what more they could be doing for their community and for their environment, instead of finding more reasons for not doing anything.

Regards

Lesley Collins

Project Worker

Ascott Road Service

Aylesbury

-------------------------------------------------------------

Some of us have always tried to recycle as much as we

can, and composted our organic waste. Now AVDC is

trying to do the right thing, and to catch up with the

rest of the country as regards green waste recycling.

And of course we get the usual whingeing from people

who couldn't care less about the environment, or in

fact anything but themselves. If green waste is

removed from general household bins, and other

recyclables are collected too, what on earth are

people filling their household bins with if a

fortnightly collection is not enough? If they want a

collection every week for household waste and green

waste, then obviously they're going to have to pay

more for it - but they don't want that either. Join

the 21st century, and let's put in the effort to do

the right thing instead of complaining.

Dave Darby, Winslow

-------------------------------------------------------------

This new proposal does not make any sense at all. It may indeed be useful for some less mobile people to be able to put out their garden rubbish for collection, but to then limit normal rubbish collection to bi-weekly is just not good enough.

We routinely collect and sort our plastic, glass, metal and paper re-cyclables into the black baskets, take cardboard to the municipal tip, compost our own vegetable waste and take our bigger garden rubbish to the municipal tip.

We STILL need to have a weekly domestic rubbish collection in spite of all this green activity.

Nigel Pritchard, Stoke Mandeville Parish

-------------------------------------------------------------

We already pay a huge amount of council taxes in this area and now despite prices going up, we are being offered less of a service.

I live in a small house and only have a small wheelie bin which accomodates all of 3 rubbish sacks. By the time the dustman come there is always bags additional rubbish I have to put out by my bin, as is the case for most people down my road. I can imagine how mouch worse this scheme will be for families with a number of children. The consequences of rubbish being left for double this time is that Aylesbury is going to look like a rubbish tip with everyones stuff sitting there. You can imagine how nasty it will be when household waste is sitting outside for 2 weeks in the heat in the summer.

You can bet the the 'cost saving' council will then announce that our taxes are going up yet again to pay for enviromental health services and pest control when the place is overrun with vermin having a field day with all the waste.

Reduce our services - reduce our council tax.

Jemma Cooper, by email

-------------------------------------------------------------

The idea of having houshold waste collected evey two weeks is outrageous and should not even be considered.

My brother who lives in Marlow already has the scheme with the two wheelie bins and is always complaining about it. He

is left with one near empty bin for the green waste and an overflowing household bin with extra bags of rubbish on the street.

This scheme is not to promote recyclying but rather a way of the council saying that we have too much waste for them to deal with. Waiting for the rubbish to be collected fortnighlty will mean that the rubbish will smell,

bins will overflow and any bags on the street are liable to be ripped open by neighbood cats or wild animals. We already have trouble fitting all our weekly rubbish into the wheelie bin the Council has given us, who knows what will do when the rubbish is collected every second week.

Some people will dispose of the extra rubbish themselves, meaning the council do not have to deal with it. Yet no doubt are council tax will keep on increasing to fund

these new idiotic schemes.

Nicholas Sabine

-------------------------------------------------------------

To comment on this story, CLICK HERE

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO READ ON AYLESBURYTODAY

PRINCES RISBOROUGH NEWS - CLICK HERE

THAME NEWS - CLICK HERE

SPORTS NEWS - CLICK HERE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - CLICK HERE

DEAR JOHN PRESCOTT CAMPAIGN - CLICK HERE

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE FOR COURTNEY - CLICK HERE

THE LATEST PLANNING APPLICATIONS - CLICK HERE

DIARY DATES - CLICK HERE

WHY SHOULD YOU PAY MORE FOR PETROL - CLICK HERE

STOKE MANDEVILLE HOSPITAL SPECIAL CARE BABY UNIT - CLICK HERE

MEET THE NEWS TEAM - CLICK HERE

I WANT TO BE A JOURNALIST - CLICK HERE

D-DAY HISTORY, THEIR STORIES IN THEIR WORDS - CLICK HERE

ON-LINE TELEVISION GUIDE - CLICK HERE

MOTHER AND BABY - CLICK HERE

COPING WITH BEREAVEMENT - CLICK HERE

GUIDE TO LOCAL SCHOOLS - CLICK HERE

LOCAL SPORTS CLUB WEBSITES - CLICK HERE

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE - CLICK HERE

• Email to a friend
• Print this page