THURROCK’S top councillor for Environment thanked residents for their remarkable recycling efforts after Friday (18 February) evening’s meeting of the cabinet.
Cllr Val Morris-Cook said: “We are now recycling very nearly half the waste we produce from our homes and I want to thank residents for the way they have embraced the system.
“A cleaner-greener Thurrock is one of this council’s main priorities and it’s a real pleasure to know that local people are joining with us in this aim.”
She was speaking after the cabinet had agreed a £350,000 saving from the waste budget proposing that collections of the green and grey “residual” bins will move to fortnightly collection later in the year.
Cllr Morris-Cook said: “We are not talking about changing the blue recycling and brown composting collections — they will definitely be remaining weekly — but we are seriously looking at moving the residual collections to once a fortnight.
“Residents who are concerned about the smells coming from bins need not worry because everything that can ‘go off’ can be recycled or composted and will still be collected every week.
“Remember,” she said, “two years ago you had one 240 litre wheelie bin and one small 50 litre box to put the rubbish and recycling in. Now, with three 240 litre bins people are filling the blue one and putting very little in the green or grey one.
“Now that you have the three bins, the rubbish that goes in the residual one doesn’t smell.”
She added: “I know that one size doesn’t fit all and there will be some people who need to keep their weekly residual bin collection. The team will work with residents if there are genuine problems.
“I have spoken to many public meetings about this and once people understand that their recycling and composting bins will still be collected as usual, they understand the reasons for it — it will save on CO2 emissions too, as the lorries will make fewer runs.”
Thurrock Council is considering introducing the fortnightly collection of the residual, green and grey bins in June, however homes which still use the black bag collection system will remain at weekly collections.
At last someine has picked up the problem with the recycling collections, using 3 vehicles doing the collections only hampers the carbon footprint of the recycling also the wear and tear on the roads from these heavy vehicles.
I would still like to know who is making all the cash from the recycling as it is certainly not reflected in savings from the supermarkets whne buying products that are using recycled packaging, also does the constant running of machinery used in the recycling process not increase the carbon footprint by their use of electricity which I woudl imagine is not from renewable sources.
Since last October 2010, we who live in Stifford Road and Fulbrook Lane havent had a weekly collection for our Brown bins, I have spent quite a considerable amount time on the phone trying to, get the collection restored, we have been promised that it would be restored, and that the Refuse dept couldnt understand ,how we were forgotten, I have been on the phone every week, they now know my voice, so please restore how weekly collection of the Brown Bin, I know that lots of people are now using there green bins, because the brown bin isnt collected, When you first started the new collection system, and we ended up with three bins instead of one, that also meant three lorries instead of one, nine men instead of three men, so much for improvements??.
Does anybody remember what it was like with just one bin, nobody would want to go back to that scenario would they. I think it makes perfect sense to only collect the green bins once a fortnight. in most households you would struggle to fill it up if it was left for even longer. Now the three bin system has bedded in it surely now is the time to tinker about with it and get if working more efficiently.
All i can say is thank god we dont live in Brentwood. If they want a a wheelie bin at all they have to rent it from the council otherwise they have to use plastic bags and leave it on the kerbside for collection. I have a close friend who uses this service and he has the honour of paying Brentwood council over £200 per month council tax and only has a bin because he pays for it. And no he does not live in a big house.