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Are communal bins right for our area?
Wednesday, 23 January, 2008
The council plans to stop collecting rubbish from individual households throughout the central areas of Brighton and Hove. They want to put large communal bins in the road instead.
Our Society objects to the bins because:
- They are not suitable for the elderly and disabled; some will not be able to carry rubbish to the nearest bin; some will find it difficult to operate the lid.
- They will spoil the conservation area; a lot of effort is put into trying to preserve the character of areas like Regency Square. Is it right for the Council to undermine the whole process by placing these large bins in the street.
- They discourage re-cycling; it will be much more difficult for the Council to encourage people to re-cycle because no one will know who is putting re-cyclable items into the communal bins.
- They take up parking spaces; the bins have to be in the street so that the automatic vehicles can empty them.
- They are ugly; just look at the photos!
- People dump large items next to them when they should arrange for proper disposal. Businesses can put trade refuse into the communal bins rather than pay for collection, as they should.
- Many people will have to carry rubbish quite a way to the nearest bin. For example, there will be no bin in St Margaret's Place so residents will need to walk round to Russell Square to get rid of their rubbish.
- The council's main aim is to save money. They say that their objective is cleaner streets: recent experience shows that good enforcement can achieve this aim very well by persuading people to put their rubbish out at the right time. We don't need big bins in the street.
Back in September 2007 the council tried to introduce these bins without any consultation. Thanks to lobbying by societies such as our own, opposition councillors voted to delay the scheme so that people's views could be obtained.
The council is sending questionnaires to all households affected. They will ask whether people support the general idea of communal bins in their area. They will also include a map showing where the bins will be located and ask whether the positions are appropriate.
If you get one of these questionnaires, please send it back with your views!