Letter: Fortnightly refuse collections are rubbish
Thursday 21st January 2010, 8:07AM GMT.
Letter: It is January 14 as I write this and we have not had our rubbish bin emptied since before Christmas because of the weather.
This is just one example of why we should never have gone to fortnightly waste collections.
I am also annoyed with the local councillor who wrote in last year to complain about the change to collections over the festive period.
Last year the council decided that the first collection after Christmas would be waste and not recycling, regardless of schedules.
They informed us of the change by attaching leaflets to the bins and we were happy with the change as we prefer to have cardboard and paper hanging around rather than our turkey carcass.
We were therefore somewhat surprised to find the council being criticised for “causing confusion resulting in residents missing their collections”.
I can’t help but wonder if the criticism led them to stick to the schedule this year.
Our recycling was collected on January 2 – had this been changed to waste then we would not be in the situation we are in now.
The only reason residents missed their collections last year is because they didn’t bother to read the leaflet.
D Tipton
Shrewsbury
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
I’m confused about fortnightly bin collections. In Telford I have my bin emptied every week, well the grey one every two weeks, and my recycling every two weeks… Never causes us any problems, in fact my bins are usually half empty even after two weeks.
I have to admit though, the reason that I don’t have bin problems is because I’m not a stupid (unlike the majority). I don’t buy products with excess packaging, I purchase from the local farm shop and use NO packaging!!! And split recycling from general waste effectively.
Report abuse
The whole system needs to be overhauled and designed from scratch:
- we have a red box divided in 2 (without a lid)
- a blue box (with a stretchy cover)
- a blue bag
- a black bin
- a green bin
They are all different designs, shapes and sizes, can’t be stacked neatly on top of each other and make the side and front of my house look like a mess.
People would co-operate more if the system was more convenient and looked nicer.
- All the recycling boxes are all colour coded, have the same design and can be stacked neatly on top of each other .
- with a way to wheel them all around at the same time
- perhaps even with proper lids and look good enough to keep inside the house.
Report abuse
works ok for me but i recycle
Report abuse
I’m sure the people suffering in Haiti, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake, would also regard this as a major issue(!). As untidy as the various boxes look, they do encourage a lot of people to encourage who normally wouldn’t be bothered to take their packaging to a recycling centre.
Now PLEASE stop moaning or, if you’re so bothered, take your rubbish to the nearest tip yourself.
Report abuse
I rely on seeing what bins my neighbours put out the night before to know what week we’re on – I can’t make head or tail of the council’s notifcations!
Report abuse
I only recycle paper and cardboard, all my other cans, tins, glass and plastic goes to Tesco who give me points to convert to other things.
My only complaint is that it would be nice if we could get our grey bins steam cleaned every now and again rather than paying somebody privately to do so.
Report abuse
i agree marco, where my sister lives u just put everything in one bin and the counicl recycle it all for you, sorted, literaly!
now thats service
Report abuse
We have been on a fortnightly, alternating bin system in Oswestry for years and have never had a problem with it. Not sure what the problem is with other parts of the county being on a similar system (although our system is definately easier than Marco’s above).
Recycle what you can and you shouldn’t have too much rubbish. Yes there is an issue with bin collections at the moment – but it’s just unfortunate that the bad weather occured over the Christmas break.
This is not an issue that is going to go away, everyone has to recycle more so just get on with it!
Report abuse
Perhaps we should all count our blessings and be thankful we don’t live in Haiti?
Report abuse
I think it is great, people who moan about it are lazy and just not bothered about the enviroment.
We all work in our house and we all manage to recycle it take no time at all. Stop moaning and just do it.
Report abuse
Well I recycle but that hadn’t been collected for a month so I burnt it – I quite enjoyed the fire too.
Report abuse
As a Telford resident who’s had fortnightly collections in a wheelie bin for a very long time, I’m very happy with what we have now. Agree that the recycle boxes could be better, and we desperately need a plastics recycling.
People need to take an element of personal responsibility when it comes to waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Report abuse
Suellan Fowler
Have a look at greenboxday.co.uk you can set reminders to be sent by email each week to tell you what bin it is.
Report abuse
Next Week our Recycling is collected but after ringing three weeks ago we was told they would not collect it on 25th but our Grey Bins will be collected Every Week so without Fail at 7am this monday just gone i put out my Grey Bin and low and be hold my Grey Bin was collected and my recycling which i was told by the Counicl would not be collected was and we now have a load of recycling to go out nad now i find that it’s unfair and wrong
Thanks
Andrew
Report abuse
zzzz yawn zzzz
Report abuse
TelfordSteve,
do you realise that since last March Tesco only give you one Clubcard point for two aluminium cans, and nothing for tins, glass and plastic?
Report abuse
@collin: With so many people suffering in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake I am surprised that you are even reading the comments on a letter to the Shropshire Star.
Report abuse
I agree with each of you,who wrote in this blog. The point is that the council isn’t listening what we’re saying? We live separate live , we lost that community spirit in us because of the live style we shoose to live, they told us what we should do and we follow them like a ….So please right your ideas of easy recycling instead of looking at those horrible collection of bins.
Report abuse
I agree with Marco, get a life it’s only a bit of rubbish, at least we can live with it.
Report abuse
l.o.l.
its only a bin
Report abuse
in that case you should vote conservative because our leader has promised the conservatives will bring back weekly bin day to shropshire when we are elected
fortnightly is a labour socialist cut to the service to make up for their debt problem, its an eu stealth tax and its disgusting and unhygenic, get rid of brown, get rid of all these silly recycling boxes, bring back weekly bin day with dave cameron
Report abuse
fortnight bin collections without plastic collection is unfair, if they would pick up plastic i recknon my bin would only be half full and i could happily go a month without collection
Report abuse
interestingly governmnent guidance via their quango WRAP is that organic wastes should be collected WEEKLY. In Shropshire only the South Shropshire District Council did this and all the others collect fortnightly. Interestingly when the council went unitary against the wishes of 70% of the population of south shropshire, we were promised all areas would improve to the level of the best performing districts. Oddly this doesnt seem to have happened yet though. So will Shropshire Council be bringing in weekly collections soon? Or were we lied to, was the whole unitary project a scam?
Report abuse
i have 3 kids and normally i can cope with once a fortnight just about but clearly the council messed up with this one and over Xmas we are obviously going to produce more trash, i filled my bin just with plastic packaging and stuff from all the presents, and they wont recycle that so why not revert to weekly collections over Xmas like SABC used to do??
Report abuse
i totally agree with marco the counicl dont listen there system of recycling is too complicated and too much effort, why wont they listen, i have to carry 3 different boxes down about 200 m of track to them every other week, its a joke, as if i dont have enough work to do around the house, i dont know why we pay them, they make hundreds of thousands of pounds selling our metal and paper and yet they wont listen to the customer and make the system convenient and user friendly – typcial local government
Report abuse
i think the people need to moan less and recycle more
Report abuse
Tory Boy
Thanks. I considered voting Conservative, but now I know that they are prepared to waste my hard-earned taxpayers money on unneccessary weekly collections just to appease the lazy….I won’t.
I’m off to decide just who I will vote for in the next election.
Report abuse
We saw an advert in the shropshire star from shropshire council stating that we had to put our waste out instead of recycling but I told my partner that we were telford council so we didn’t do it. Low and behold the waste was emptied on the 2nd and we missed it. There were no notes pinned to our bins and how would you know if you didn’t buy the papers!
Report abuse
Just to add, I’ve just moved over from Walsall where the council tax is slightly higher than Telford. We have little grey bins emptied every week and our old large waste bin houses as much recycling as you can get in it! Hat’s off to Walsall, even their roads are in better condition!
Report abuse
its all a snow storm in a tea cup, the weather stopped rubbish collections around the whole of the UK not just in shropshire
Report abuse
Reply to GB
The one I use in Stafford give one point for two items imcluding glass, plastic etc.
Report abuse
Why isn’t plastic collected? All my drinks bottles, fruit and veg containers, etc have a recycling logo on them – I think I could cut down by black bin waste by another 30% if they collected the plastics
Report abuse