The big bin debate

Roger Hinton Tuesday, 16 October, 2007

The Council has been thrown into turmoil following the recent press release announcing over 500 new communal bins for the central areas of Brighton and Hove.

The environment committee, which met on 13 September was asked to approve the scheme. This was in spite of the fact that most councillors on the committee had not, been told whereabouts the bins would be located in their areas. As a result they were not able to consult residents.

Why does the Council want them?

The reason given for putting bins everywhere is to make the streets tidier. We are all aware of the mess created by seagulls when people put rubbish out on the wrong day.

However, there is another reason why the Council is so keen on the scheme. It will produce savings of £970,000 over seven years. The savings arise from the fact that the bins can be emptied by just one worker, operating an automatic vehicle. No more need for whole teams of "bin men" throwing black sacks into the back of refuse trucks.

What does the Society think?

We do not want these bins in our area.

We have endured messy streets for years but things, are now much better. Rubbish is stored in basement areas. Enforcement officers persuade people to put rubbish out on the right day. Of course problems still occur, but they are usually dealt with quickly once reported.

The communal bins are large and ugly. They tempt traders to dump waste rather than pay for collection. Large items get left by the bins which should be collected separately.

All of this makes the streets more rather than less tidy, and is completely at odds with attempts to protect the environment within a conservation area.

At present the Council collects rubbish from basements or immediately outside people's houses. With communal bins we will be expected to carry rubbish to the nearest bin. This reduces the service provided by the Council and will be a real problem for the elderly and disabled.

Finally, where will the bins be put? We don't know, but would you want one outside your home?

What's the current position?

At the environment committee meeting on 13 September the proposed scheme was neither approved nor rejected. Members of the Labour and Green groups, including our own councillor, Sven Rufus, successfully argued that no action should be taken until there had been full consultation with residents, and the results reported back.

We've been through a consultation on this issue before. However, many people felt that the conclusions reported did not properly reflect their views. Let's hope the consultation is done properly this time.