RECYCLING SCHEME

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Derby householders who had blue boxes for recycling tins, glass and plastic bottles, had them replaced with blue bins. Unfortunately, the 29,000 boxes could end up on a rubbish tip because the council cannot recycle them. The boxes were delivered to homes across the city in April 2003 for people to store recycling material before it was picked up by the council. However, they are now being replaced with blue bins, which the council says are easier for residents and refuse collectors to handle.

Boxes were the best container at the time, as tins, glass and plastic had to be sorted by hand into different compartments in the bin lorry. Now, recyclables are mechanically sorted after collection, so bins can be used instead. The council said it had not looked into sending the boxes out of the city to a recycling centre which could process them because it would be too expensive. The boxes were originally chosen because their design best suited because recycling was sorted by hand, but now it is done by a machine.

Councillor Alan Graves, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Direct Services, said, “These bins are easier for both residents and refuse collectors to handle and, as they can hold more than the boxes, they should improve our recycling rate further." A council spokeswoman said that the boxes were made of Polypropylene plastic, which it did not have the facilities to recycle. She added, "The plastic used in the container was the most suitable for its purpose. We regret that these boxes cannot be recycled by us but would like to encourage people to reuse them." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Feb/07)

Householders could face a new charge for rubbish collections under new plans. Under the proposals, people would be billed for the amount of "unsorted waste" they leave in rubbish bins. The objective is to encourage them to pick out recyclable products such as tin cans, glass bottles, cardboard packaging and paper. Ministers would leave it up to local councils to decide whether to implement schemes in their own areas.

The new plans would lead to more illegal dumping of rubbish and would be difficult to administer. However, experts say that dustbins can be fitted with electronic tags that can be read by a device attached to the dustcart. The machine can identify the bin, weigh it and add a charge to the owner's bill. Local authorities argue that householders are paying far too little for rubbish disposal.

The Household Incentive Scheme, is considered necessary because of Britain's poor record for recycling compared to other EU states. The British people recycle only 12% of their waste, well below that in many other EU countries, some of which recycle more than 40%. Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett is quoted as saying, "I accept that there will be potential political risks, but also the potential for significant long-term gains."

Ms Beckett acknowledged to colleagues that the move could be "perceived as another stealth tax" and outlined how to "grant powers to allow local authorities at their discretion to charge householders for the collection, processing and disposal of unsorted household waste". Current charges for waste collection, included in the council tax, average less than £1-a-week per household. Abolishing that part of the council tax could be used as a selling point for the proposed system.

Since the kids have grown up, we have seven adults living in our house and as such generate the according amount of rubbish for collection. And now we have two different dustbins our household dustbin is only emptied half as many times and it seems that in spite of paying over £1,500 per year for council tax alone we would still be expected to pay £60 for a bigger bin.

We can live with that, but recently I left out the blue box full of plastic bottles and a bag full of washed and crushed cans. Guess what? The cans were not collected. If the council cannot take this recycling seriously, why should I? In future when the blue box is full I shall dispose of any other bottles and cans either in my dustbin or maybe take some to a recycling point.

Well done, Derby City Council, it looks like in spite of your over-inflation community charge you now offer a lesser service and I have to do your job for you. I don't want extra blue boxes around my garden, one looks tacky enough, and I may not even use that in future. David P Murphy

I recently received my brown wheelie bin, blue box and brown bag and the most complicated instructions I have ever seen. Please bear in mind that I spent more than 60 years using and looking after the most complicated instruments and I worked as a technical author. These instructions, which were aptly titled "Rethink rubbish", were a little odd, suggesting we put the things "we don't want" in the blue box and then listing practically all the things that every household desperately wants to get rid of and accumulates.

The "bag for paper" doesn't want Yellow Pages or Thomson directories, but wants telephone directories: so shall we have to tear out the yellow pages from BT's relatively new phone book? And what are we supposed to do with "coloured paper, brown or coloured envelopes and cardboard", or those "Yellow Pages or Thomson directories"? Logically, they should go in the black bin! Why doesn't it say so, instead of expecting the poor old householder to decide whether something can be recycled or not?

And why was this golden opportunity not taken to recycle the acres of plastic sheeting and bags that litter our landscape? Also it would have been helpful to me, and hundreds of thousands of other sufferers from macular disease, if a lighter green background had been used for "your questions answered", so that the black text printed thereon would have been more visible.

I have already rung the council offices about receiving a huge brown bin, instead of one of the same size as my existing small black wheelie bin (we are a couple of very senior citizens). Besides, I am already a fanatical composter: I would have nothing to put in a brown bin. Even the "free home composter" offered might be a hindrance, but I think I'll try it.

Finally, I wonder how an ordinary householder is supposed to know whether glass is lead, or even Pyrex. Would a small window be such a contamination of molten glass? And there is one other thing, the "bag" doesn't want "coloured paper" but wants "catalogues, brochures and leaflets", which are brightly coloured. Perhaps it means coloured right through. Difficult, isn't it?

Odd that the bag for textiles wants "bedding" but not "duvets, pillows and cushions". Presumably those go in the black bin, along with soiled clothing and rags. Pity that cardboard isn't collected, along with brown and coloured envelopes. Ronald Gill

Councillor Sara Bolton has stated that refuse collections will not return to being weekly. Why not? She gives no reason for this, just a plain "no". It's not good for refuse to be standing two weeks in hot weather, especially when you have a family of four, not forgetting the dog. It's OK for the council to encourage us to recycle and I am all for saving the environment, but the council needs to rethink its refuse collection policies. Also, if you live in a small house, where do you find the room for an extra two bins?

Don't think about buying a bigger house you'll get stung for council tax, if not by the wasps around your already overflowing bin! My bin is always full after eight days and my recycle bin is about one-quarter full when it is time for collection. So, off I go down to Raynesway tip only to be told that because I drive a van I can't tip my rubbish without a permit. Maybe Ms Bolton has some room in her bin for my rubbish? I doubt it, with a twice-monthly collection. G Matkin

I attended the Area Panel 2 meeting at Chellaston School and specifically sought answers on the cost of furnishing two new bins per household in the community. I tabled a question on how Derby City Council could afford these new bins. I asked what the cost was in real terms to council tax payers and how much money had already been lost through the loss of many bins, as reported in your paper this summer.

What strikes me as offensive, having recycled at the Raynesway Recycling Centre for 20 years, depositing bottles, plastic bottles, garden rubbish, clothes and paper, is the following: I am being asked to rinse my cans, flatten my bottles and wait two weeks for my normal bin to be emptied - all by a council that has raised council tax by 4.4% (higher than the rate of inflation). I am not employed by the council and flatly refuse to follow this request. Councillor Chris Wynn did not provide the answer so I put my questions in writing. I am still waiting for a reply. Brenda Longworth