There was consternation at this week’s Area Forum, when the Council spelled out its plans for forcing households to have two wheelie bins – and cutting the non-recyclable waste collection from weekly to fortnightly. Residents from streets like Woodstock Road have complained that they just don’t have enough space in their tiny front gardens for so many bins – and that people wont be able to get in and out of their front doors if the Council push this change through.
Whilst lots of residents are really keen to get a recycling wheelie bin because they have the space and the boxes aren’t bin enough, many Stroud Green properties are not suitable for this change. If the Council had bothered to consult with residents it would have found out that people have completely different requirements – but in typical Haringey style decisions were made in secret behind closed doors.
Haringey say that everyone’s front garden will be assessed, and that people may be able to request smaller bins. However, its unclear what happens if your front garden just isn’t big enough to cope with two weeks worth of black-bag waste from all the flats in your house – or if your neighbours don’t recycle properly and put smelly food waste in the black bin (or what happens with nappies and cat litter which can’t be recycled). Ed Butcher and I have been out knocking on doors in Upper Tollington Park and neighbouring roads and most residents are hugely supportive of attempts to increase recycling, but desperately want to keep their weekly bin collections.
The Area Committee agreed to put residents concerns to the Labour Councillor in charge of waste collections.
January 23rd, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Like most residents I am hugely supportive of attempts to increase recycling, and I desperately want to keep the present usual weekly bin collections.
I think that all residents, in Woodstock Road where I reside, will be supportive of more recycling and continuation of the present weekly bin collections.
Many thanks to Councillors Richard Wilson and Ed Butcher for pursuing this important matter on our behalf.
January 24th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Not sure about the ‘behind closed doors’ bit. This was discussed in public last summer at the Area Forum at St Mary’s School in Hornsey which I attended and which was chaired by a Lib Dem councillor. Weren’t you there and didn’t your fellow councillors mention it to you? Perhaps you need to have a word with them about keeping you up to speed with what’s happening locally.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
The decisions have all been made without any consultation with residents. Councillors have been aware and Lib Dem councillors have told residents about the plans at the Forum meetings they chair and in our leaflets. But it shouldn’t be just down to us. The Council has a £1.5m communications department, but has been strangely silent on the matter for the last year – until eventually it was mentioned on page 20 of the last Harinegy People – just a few months ahead of implementation and after all the decisions have been made!
January 24th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
A ‘few months’ would seem like a long enough time.
January 24th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Long enough if you just plan to tell people that their bin collections will be changed whether they like it or not. Not long enough if you want to find out what they think and adapt your plans to fit round the residents you serve.