Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin@The Ground Bean Café on April 25, 2012 at 17:07

I'm in a family of four, two adults and two children. Two months ago we were issued with a new green lidded wheelie bin for mixed recyclables. What a relief! Prior to this I was struggling to get a week's recycling to fit into the white canvas garden cuttings bag I'd repurposed for storing the recycling. (I'd long ago given up on the standard issue green crate which was way too small.) Our recyclable rubbish consistently exceeds our "black" refuse so I'm very happy that we now have a wheelie bin dedicated to recyclables. I know the council is not threatening to switch the recyclable collection to every second week too; but I'd be happy for them to do so.

As far as the black bin collections go, every second week suits us fine as the volume is really low. Lets face it, there are probably three warmish months in London and if the lid's down it's never going to pong the place out even after two weeks.

The problem is evidently due to households that have yet to switch over to recycling the bulk of their waste. The solution boils down to improving education and awareness. It's taken our household many years to adjust to recycling so I fully expect households who have not yet made the switch will need time. I understand that part of Veolia's contract includes having staff visiting and training householders. If the message is not getting across then Haringey should bite the bullet and invest a bit more on awareness.

It's illogical for a developed country like the UK to witter on about planning a sustainable future for the planet if we can't even get our act together by recycling household waste! The change in frequency of refuse pickups has been an effective tool to exposed those household that have not yet got with it. Now we need to help those households learn how to use the recycling system effectively.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Mellor on April 25, 2012 at 17:26

I agree wholeheartedly Kevin - its an issue of behaviour change for the dwindling number of people who need to be "nudged" into taking recycling seriously -this is not about a process or contract negotiations with a  council contractor

And Let alone the fact that a change to fortnightly collection dates will half the number of refuse vehicle movements in the affected area thus reducing congestion, fuel usage and air pollution.

I must say I was surprised to see the Lib Dem politicians campaigning so hard on this issue - it strikes me as a change they would normally have supported? There is no way a short-term political expediency at the time of an upcoming London Mayoral election could have triumphed over longer term integrity ... Surely not! (*removes tongue from cheek*)

In any event it has at least put Bounds Green on the map - the Lib Dem campaign has been wittily lampooned on the always hilarious Glum Councillors Blog.

• ▶ Reply