... I'm just surprised it took them so long. We can now have a caddy to recycle food waste for the kitchen and we can put it in the green or the black bin. Makes sense...... Not!

Quoted from 26

... I'm just surprised it took them so long. We can now have a caddy to recycle food waste for the kitchen and we can put it in the green or the black bin. Makes sense...... Not!

Haven't heard about this so can you post a link?

So are we getting a hefty discount from Veolia?

What happens to the composting bag if it is put in the black wheelie bin. If it goes directly to landfill as I guess the contents of the black bin go, what's the green gain. If it goes in the green wheelie bin and that is collected fortnightly,that will surely stink up the neighbourhood.

Quoted from brian

What happens to the composting bag if it is put in the black wheelie bin. If it goes directly to landfill as I guess the contents of the black bin go, what's the green gain. If it goes in the green wheelie bin and that is collected fortnightly,that will surely stink up the neighbourhood.

What is the more important? Green recycling or Veolia making money?   Unless of course our council tax goes down! Yeh right!  

Quoted from brian

What happens to the composting bag if it is put in the black wheelie bin. If it goes directly to landfill as I guess the contents of the black bin go, what's the green gain. If it goes in the green wheelie bin and that is collected fortnightly,that will surely stink up the neighbourhood.

Its not about green ist. It's about cutting services so that the senior execs can keepntheir noses in the trough.

Sorry am I missing something here - what exactly is going to happen to this food waste ???

Quoted from PaulaM

Sorry am I missing something here - what exactly is going to happen to this food waste ???

In order to defuse complaints about fortnightly black bin colllections they are introducing a new scheme that get you to separate out the smelly food waste - which of course will be chucked into the next bin to be emptied. So one week it will go into landfill (as at present), the other week it will go wherever the green waste goes.

I have used this system and on the whole it works.  Problems I found - red meat bones have to go in the black bin.  This means the remains of your leg of lamb can be sitting festering for a fortnight; the bags disintegrate in contact with even small amounts of liquid (pasta, tea bags etc) and need changing at least once a day.  

Why on earth are people throwing away so much food? Very odd.  We have the worst obesity rates in the known universe http://goo.gl/VmpZh and we trash huge quantities of food http://goo.gl/IjtQ8. Completely unnecessary. I blame the parents.

Quoted from blackdog

In order to defuse complaints about fortnightly black bin colllections they are introducing a new scheme that get you to separate out the smelly food waste - which of course will be chucked into the next bin to be emptied. So one week it will go into landfill (as at present), the other week it will go wherever the green waste goes.

Food waste isn't the only pungent and potentially unhealthy waste some households have to deal with.  Nappies for instance.  I would imagine 2 weeks of nappies dunnarf pen and ink.

Quoted from blackdog

In order to defuse complaints about fortnightly black bin colllections they are introducing a new scheme that get you to separate out the smelly food waste - which of course will be chucked into the next bin to be emptied. So one week it will go into landfill (as at present), the other week it will go wherever the green waste goes.

Yes this is what confused me. Surely dairy and meat products etc can't be composted - or we would have been able to put it in our green bins long ago ?

Quoted from PaulaM

Yes this is what confused me. Surely dairy and meat products etc can't be composted - or we would have been able to put it in our green bins long ago ?

If you read the original article, there's a new depot at Padworth to cater for this I believe.

Relax everyone.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15118516

Eric Pickles to the rescue!  Pure grandstanding, obviously, but at least when mobs rule the streets following the coalition's decimation of our police forces we'll know we can rely on weekly bin collections!

But will he also bail West Berkshire out of its huge overspend? And how could even the most incompetent bean counter get it so wrong?  I thought the tories promised us efficient management. Whingewhingewhinge - what do you reckon?

Oh, I see: it's just 'news management'.  They're hoping that the earth shaking bins announcement will grab the headlines, forcing the Coalition's demolition of the Royal Navy into second place.  Seems to have worked so far as the Beeb are concerned at least, but these days Auntie just does what she's told by Cameron and his little helper.

Opening day of the Tory Conference and guess what? Hey, we've found more money to help Councils keep weekly collections. Gosh, that's lucky isn't it? I'm sure the timing is just coincidence.


Threep.

Quoted from Threepwood

Opening day of the Tory Conference and guess what? Hey, we've found more money to help Councils keep weekly collections. Gosh, that's lucky isn't it? I'm sure the timing is just coincidence.


Threep.

But have WBC announced fortnightly collections in time to grab part of this newly discovered cash?

So the Tory led Government are saying we should reinstate weekly bin collections across the country. At the same time, our local Tories are scrapping weekly bin collections. Do they not speak to each other?

For the record, I wouldn't mind fortnightly collections providing the proposals were realistic and well consulted on. I don't think the proposals are effective enough, and certainly have not been consulted upon. Maybe the council should delay changes for six months until a consultation has taken place and national policy becomes clearer?

Quoted from noobree

Relax everyone.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15118516

Eric Pickles to the rescue!  Pure grandstanding, obviously, but at least when mobs rule the streets following the coalition's decimation of our police forces we'll know we can rely on weekly bin collections!

But will he also bail West Berkshire out of its huge overspend? And how could even the most incompetent bean counter get it so wrong?  I thought the tories promised us efficient management. Whingewhingewhinge - what do you reckon?

Come on WWW. Are they efficient?

I would guess that a poorly run organisation might not know:

a) how much money it has to spend...(remember the £18m unspent s106 fund)
b) how many people work there (like the 150 temps it added to the payroll by mistake)
c) what its customers think (pavilion anyone?)

Quoted from richard.garvie

Maybe the council should delay changes for six months until a consultation has taken place and national policy becomes clearer?

The trouble is that, having tried to hide the bad news in a press release about food waste collection, WBC have given no information or reasoning whatsoever about the fortnightly collections.  However, if a six month delay costs a significant sum (and I trust it would or there is no sense to going fortnightly in the first place) then all it will do is further expand the WBC overspend and increase the borrowing you are always complaining about. If they have to (or want to) return to weekly collections in six months, when Pickles' rhetoric is interpreted into some real effect then at least the fortnightly experiment will have taken place during the colder half of the year when the rot/stench will be reduced.

As it is £250 million doesn't sound like enough cash to outweigh the nationwide savings from fortnightly collections for long.

Don't get me wrong, there are a number of potential problems with the Pickles proposal. Here in West Berkshire though, they just seem to be rushing into something with the hope it works. Personal budgets anyone? The council is a complete disaster, goes from one bad decision to another and seemingly thinks it does not need to consult the residents.

Quoted from richard.garvie

Don't get me wrong, there are a number of potential problems with the Pickles proposal. Here in West Berkshire though, they just seem to be rushing into something with the hope it works. Personal budgets anyone? The council is a complete disaster, goes from one bad decision to another and seemingly thinks it does not need to consult the residents.

Quoted Text

councillors are elected to take the difficult decisions required. If elected members are unwilling to take those decisions, they should resign.

The statements in bold seem to contradict each other Richard.

Quoted from richard.garvie

So the Tory led Government are saying we should reinstate weekly bin collections across the country. At the same time, our local Tories are scrapping weekly bin collections. Do they not speak to each other?

For the record, I wouldn't mind fortnightly collections providing the proposals were realistic and well consulted on. I don't think the proposals are effective enough, and certainly have not been consulted upon. Maybe the council should delay changes for six months until a consultation has taken place and national policy becomes clearer?

It goes to prove that WBC are so far behind the times it is scary, just when everyone has tried fortnightly bin collections and it is proving not to work, they introduce it. They just contstantly have to sprint to try and keep up with the rest of the country. So cancel the fortnightly bin collections before they have begun then?  

Quoted from user23.3

The statements in bold seem to contradict each other Richard.

Busted!

Is it just me that can't help feeling that someone is feeding User his lines?

User23, both statements stand. Councillors are elected to represent us all, and should consult with us on what we think. When a major public service is withdrawn or changed, the council are obliged to carry out a detailed impact assessment and consultation. Can you direct me to both of these documents please???

As for the taking of difficult decisions, you need to make those decisions based on fact and shouldn't councillors make decisions in public? The only decisions at West Berkshire Council are deciding to approve the decision which has already been imposed on said councillor.

When was this discussed at a council meeting before it was announced?

Quoted from noobree

Is it just me that can't help feeling that someone is feeding User his lines?

No! Not the full Staff at WBC only just the little office of 250 or so who are employed to put the spin on whatever story needs it! But credit where credit is due, User toils away for them 24 hours a day to get the message across to the unbelievers.  

Quoted from Cognosco

It goes to prove that WBC are so far behind the times it is scary, just when everyone has tried fortnightly bin collections and it is proving not to work, they introduce it. They just contstantly have to sprint to try and keep up with the rest of the country. So cancel the fortnightly bin collections before they have begun then?  

Perhaps it just proves that Eric Pickles and the Conservative Party are behind the times, sitting Canute-like ordering pleading for the tide of fortnightly collections to stop.

WBC are introducing it because half the councils in the country have demonstrated that it saves money (ie it works).  In case you haven't noticed the Government have decided that WBC must save money.

I suspect it probably saves £250 million or so a year from council tax bills around the country.

Fortnightly collections can work and boost recycling rates when introduced, nobody is doubting that. Most of the complaints are that the proposals were not consultedupon and it appears to be railroaded through by unelected officers.

User23 is obviously waiting for someone to supply answers to my questions above!!!

Maybe the average black bin is no longer that full meaning a weekly collection is no longer required.

It would take us 4-6 weeks to fill our black bin.

Food waste basket delivered early this morning.  Perhaps I should send it to Eric Pickles although by the look of him I'd guess he consumes anything edible that's placed anywhere within his grasping distance.

Even if we do go to fortnightly collections, we'd only put the odd bone in it from time to time. We hardly ever throw away food, all the vegetable matter goes to feed the huge colony of worms in our compost bin.  Like Lovejoy, we certainly don't need a black bin collection every week or fortnight, although 4-6 weeks would be pushing it!

I see there's a poll on this at the other place. Not very scientific, but those who have voted are overwhelmingly in favour of fortnightly collections at present.  Why on earth does Pickles think weekly collections should be a 'right'?  More pathetic vote grabbing from the useless coalition.  Cam n' Clegg's green pretensions are completely blown with this and the 80mph motorway speed limit.

There are only three of us in the house. The black bin went out this morning, first time in three weeks & was only just over half full.

Quoted from noobree

I see there's a poll on this at the other place. Not very scientific, but those who have voted are overwhelmingly in favour of fortnightly collections at present.  Why on earth does Pickles think weekly collections should be a 'right'?  More pathetic vote grabbing from the useless coalition.  Cam n' Clegg's green pretensions are completely blown with this and the 80mph motorway speed limit.

And the fact that Osborne said yesterday that we will reduce emmissions no quicker than other countries in Europe.

Quoted from richard.garvie

And the fact that Osborne said yesterday that we will reduce emmissions no quicker than other countries in Europe.

That will be because the Europeans are way, way ahead of us in matters environmental.

No, he basically said we are abandoning the tough targets we set!!!