Wheelie bins banned - in case dustmen hurt their backs
The Daily Mail
www.dailymail.co.uk
20th August 2007
Within a week following a Government report outlining families will be forced to squeeze their rubbish into new extra-small wheelie bins or risk a £1,000 fine under the latest Labour plans to crack down on household waste, we hear that householders have been told to stop putting their rubbish in wheelie bins - because dustmen might injure their backs lifting out the sacks.

The changes are really confusing householders as government initiatives firstly want us to recycle more, to reduce filling landfill sites, despite having smaller recycling bins, then with even smaller bins, asking us to cram more waste into restrained wheelie bins. The latest crack-pot notion to assist bin men with fortnightly refuse collections and now stop putting rubbish sack in the containers, confuses us all.

The Daily Mail has highlighted the latest proposal in Hampshire. We read: Householders have been told to stop putting their rubbish in wheelie bins - because dustmen might injure their backs lifting out the sacks. Instead, residents must place their bags directly on the street for collection by hand.

The health and safety ruling by council officials in Portsmouth has caused fury because household waste is collected only once a fortnight. Residents claim sacks left in the street can be ripped open by scavenging animals, turning their neighbourhood into a rubbish dump.

The situation has arisen because Portsmouth City Council is one of the few local authorities in the country not to have lifting gear on all its dustcarts, allowing the wheelie bin to be attached to the back of the vehicle and emptied automatically.

To avoid leaving their rubbish out in vulnerable sacks, many householders have bought their own wheelie bins in which to store the bags between collections. However, these have to be emptied by hand. Now dozens have been sent letters warning them that dustmen will no longer take their rubbish away if they continue to put it out in the bins.

William Smith, 38, of Southsea, said: "It's unbelievable. I've used a wheelie bin for the past five years and now they say they're not going to empty it any more. "It's archaic. Why are we different from the rest of the UK?"

Christian Edwards, 29, of the city's Hilsea area, added: "They've always emptied my wheelie bin for the past four years. "Now they say they haven't got the correct lifting gear. I think the council won't start a wheelie bin scheme because they don't want to buy new bins."

About 50 residents have received the warning letters. Vince Venus, the council's waste collection manager-said: "Crews in some places were trying to do the residents a favour by reaching into their wheeled bins. "But we can't allow that to go on any more because of health and safety. It's easy enough to reach into a wheeled bin and take a top bag or even a second bag. But to get a heavy bag from the bottom would be very difficult. Wheeled bins are not designed to be manually emptied. We've got some strong guys in our refuse crews but we have a duty to take care of our employees. If you consider a human being arching deep into a bin to lift out a heavy bag, you could easily pull a muscle in your back or your arm. It's just not worth risking it."

All of Portsmouth's neighbouring local authorities offer a wheelie bin collection service for household waste and have done for up to ten years. Of England's 25 biggest cities, only three, including Portsmouth, do not provide a wheelie bin collection service. However, the city council does operate a wheelie bin service for recyclable waste. Mr Venus added that there were no plans to introduce wheelie bin collections in Portsmouth.

Meanwhile, another council has been blasted for its "recycling madness". Pensioners have slammed the council after being given bins for grass cuttings and weeds - when they don't have gardens. Pensioners in a sheltered housing complex who have their lawns mowed by the local council were baffled when a lorry-load of green wheelie bins were dished out.

When the elderly residents at Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, complained they were told they could put cardboard in the bins as well - but they don't have any waste cardboard.

Resident Edna Hollingsworth, 89, said: "I have already called the council to get them to come and take my bin back. "I asked them what crackpot had sent green bins to folk that have not got gardens? It is a complete waste of money. Of course I am in favour of recycling but I live alone and so do a lot of people around here. We don't produce much waste. It's crazy."

Nearby neighbour Glenise Carr said: "How much cardboard do they think we are going to have anyway? "This big wagon turned up and left bins outside everyone's front door. We have an old folks' bungalow and the council mows our lawns so we do not have green waste at all. There are now about 50 houses on this road with green bins. I am all for recycling but this whole exercise seems pretty pointless and is a waste of council taxpayers' money. I just don't see why people without a garden need a green bin."

Residents have suggested to Rotherham Council that it would be more sensible for sheltered housing complexes to have a few communal green bins. The council say cardboard and vegetable peelings can also be put in the green bins which are being distributed to all of Rotherham's 110,000 homes. Half of those homes have been included in the first phase of the council's green bin roll-out. Hugh Long, Rotherham Council's partnerships and development co-ordinator said: "Green bins give residents the opportunity to recycle a variety of compostable material.

"People can use them to dispose of cardboard, grass cuttings, leaves, clean shredded paper and hedge clippings among other items. We appreciate not everyone will find the bins useful"