Binned - weekly general refuse collections to end in Trafford

11:53am Thursday 21st February 2013 in News By Rick Bowen

A grey bin A grey bin

WEEKLY general refuse collections are to be binned in Trafford.

Householders are to have their grey bins collected on a fortnightly basis and food and garden waste will be collected once a week.

The council made the decision even though a £6.4m funding package was available from central government.

The money would have enabled Trafford to maintain weekly general waste collections over the next five years.

But the funding offer was refused by the local authority on the grounds that it wouldn’t be cost effective.

Research carried out by the council said it would cost Trafford £11.6 million to maintain a weekly grey bin collection over the next five years.

The decision not to accept the government funding has been rubbished by Councillor Steve Adshead, Labour’s environmental services spokesman.

He said: “While we support the introduction of a waste food collection service, we feel this is a lost opportunity to keep up a weekly rubbish collection for Trafford residents.”

Cllr Adshead also said there had been “no real and meaningful consultation” on the proposal.

But Executive Councillor Jonathan Coupe said the change - which will be rolled out during the spring and summer - has the support of people in the borough.

He said: “Trafford residents have told us that they would welcome more opportunities to get involved in recycling so I’m delighted we are able to offer them a more modern collection service in line with the rest of Greater Manchester.”

Trafford Council has promised to help householders make the most of the new recycling service - by providing everything from kitchen caddies to compostable bin liners.

* Anyone interested in finding out more about recycling in Trafford should visit www.trafford.gov.uk/recycling

Comments(25)

Bob_Smith says...
1:43pm Thu 21 Feb 13

When was the consultation on this? We have a slim grey bin as most people do. It is full the day before collection day not because we see it as a challenge to fill it but because that is the waste we generate. We recycle as much as we can - both black and blue bins are full each month.

A fortnightly grey collection will mean I have to go to the local dump a couple of times a week (especially in the summer months). So essentially I am doing my own refuse collection which I am already paying for.

I see some people have 2 slim grey bins or one larger grey bin - how do I go about getting one of these?

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mms98 says...
4:41pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Executive Councillor Jonathan Coupe
said

"The change has the support of people in the borough!!!!"

How can it have the support of the people of trafford if you havn't asked them?

I would rather have a weekly collection like I have had.... and paid for for a long time.... than recycle food!!

What planet are you on?

Why are you an executive councillor coming out with rubbish (excuse the pun)like that?

Lies Lies and dam Lies!!!

Should we cut our council tax contribution for rubbish removal in half???

Before big changes like this happen , ask people first, listen ..... and then respond.

Dont make a decision like this and then say , thats what the people want,

your talking bol****s !!

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dipperdapper says...
4:50pm Thu 21 Feb 13

all this will lead to is more bins stolen, a huge build up of rubbish in out back yard or in the entry which will bring with it more rodents and fox, there will be bad smells in some entrys, people will resort to putting there rubbish in the grass bin where they say food should go, ive checked and we have only 2 green bins and there are many flats here, what trafford need to do is ensure everyone has enough bins or bigger bins to compensate for this change and so far this has not happened

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mms98 says...
4:51pm Thu 21 Feb 13

If we wanted a reduced service in line with the rest of manchester - we would move to manchester!!

Trafford Council is a well-performing, low-cost council working with Trafford Partnership to make Trafford a great place to live, learn, work and relax?


That will soon start to smell, can't wait for the summer!!

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jrowlands51 says...
5:08pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Well here's one household that hasn't been consulted, because we would never agree to grey bin collections once per fortnight. I recycle using my black and blue bin, and my green bin for garden waste. However, I do not intend to put smelly food waste into this green bin as I don't want foxes, rats or flies milling around my home during the warmer weather. I pay to have my bins cleaned each month and I do my bit for recycling, but this is taking it all one step too far. No doubt we'll see an increase of roadside dumping as people try to avoid a trip to the local tip. I'm sure Trafford residents are willing to get involved in recycling procedures, but I think that would be by recycling other items, not by cutting the collection service.

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papa03 says...
10:52pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Councillor Jonathan Coupe said the change - which will be rolled out during the spring and summer - has the support of people in the borough. ........ Well councillor, when you asked us 3 or 4 years ago "for household rubbish, did we want a small grey bin collected every week or a large black bin collected fortnightly'? we your employers said overwhelmingly that we wanted a weekly collection so opted for a smaller grey bin. If you go ahead with collecting fortnightly every Trafford resident SHOULD put out the black bin fortnightly - I WILL and I will expect it to be collected and the rubbish disposed of properly.
Don't move the goalposts just because you think we all have short memories, like councillors.

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den the men says...
12:38am Fri 22 Feb 13

Oh my God.
What about the people who have colostomys.an extra week of festering in summer!
The bags will be expanding in the heat and be full of explosive gas.
When the bin is in the street for collection anyone walking past smoking could be blown to KINGDOM COME !!!!.
They obviously haven't dont a proper risk assesment.

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apollored says...
7:15am Fri 22 Feb 13

All this "recycling" that is supposedly done is a loads of baloney.

Everyon knows it all goes to landfill or just sits in the depot for months.

Instead of paying Executives who fall out with management £6 million poundsz sto get out of the way, why dont you spend it on what your constituents need?

I dont have the space at home to put all my rubbish out seperately, hope you're happy for me to have loads of bags of rubbish in a small flat.

Thanks lots for nothing!

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Bob_Smith says...
8:55am Fri 22 Feb 13

This is being introduced because 2100 Trafford households put grey bins out that are not full. What does not full mean? 50%, 70%, 90% full? Mine is 100% full. Can the councillor come on here and answer this?

A random sample of 4,200 is not a consultation, it is a survey. A consultation should let everyone who is affected have a voice. Fortunately the messenger website is here.

What consultation has taken place regarding these service improvements?

In summer 2012 Trafford Council appointed an independent research firm called BMG to undertake a survey with the residents of Trafford to consult on the future recycling and waste services. 4200 properties were randomly selected across all Wards to take part in the survey.

The results of the survey showed that residents are calling for more support to encourage green waste recycling:

70% of residents were aware that all food waste should go in the green bin.
Only 17% of residents put all their food waste in their green bin.
37% of those residents not placing food waste in green bins do not place food waste in the green bin because the food waste is not collected often enough, with resulting concerns about smells and pests.
50% of residents are placing their grey bins out when they are not full.
With the introduction of a weekly food waste collection we anticipate that the number of residents who will use this service will increase significantly.

Taken from http://www.trafford.
gov.uk/environmentan
dplanning/recyclingr
ubbishandwaste/recyc
lingandrefuseimprove
ments/#q3

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TippiCat71 says...
10:24am Fri 22 Feb 13

Well we certainly were not consulted. My bin is always full due to it beig filled with Nappies. What happens once the warm weather appears. I'm sure my neighbours will be over the moon with our bin oversplling with normal waste and my son's contribution!!!! and god forbid if he's poorly and extra waste will be produced. Not a happy Trafford Citizen.

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Fuzzball says...
1:47pm Fri 22 Feb 13

And remember, if your lid is partly open you are creating a health hazard so don't expect it to be collected for another two weeks while the rubbish behind the bin piles up. The statement that has already been said is just a sound bite that kids no one. We never asked for a two weekly collection so a complaint will be going into the council from me.

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watching says...
5:32pm Fri 22 Feb 13

We are asked to place our bins close to the road early on collection day,the next thing the Council will be asking us will be could we take them down to the tip to empty,What are we paying this lot for,bet they don't cut any of their expenses claims,you bet your life on that one.

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cromford says...
9:49pm Fri 22 Feb 13

I'd rather have fewer collections if it helps keep the council tax down.

As a single person household I already pay much more council tax than most adults and I don't want to pay any more.

The reduction in collections means I'll subsiding households with 2 or more adults just that little bit less, so I'm pleased.

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Bob_Smith says...
11:08pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Cllr Coupe tweeted that there are 227,000 people in trafford so the 4,200 "consulted" make up 0.02% of the Trafford population. Not exactly the same as saying this "has the support of people in the borough".

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littlealex says...
6:33pm Sat 23 Feb 13

Our small grey bin won't last for two weeks and we recycle all cardboard, plastics, glass etc. Recycling more food waste won't help this, we simply get through that much rubbish in a family of 4. If they really are determined to go through with this I shall simply buy an additional wheely bin and put overflow in that then take it to the tip once it's full. I suppose that's the price of our amazing Council Tax freeze.

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Elvis09 says...
5:38pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Like many of the above, I use my recycling bins as requested. My small grey bin just about copes with a weeks worth of other refuse created by a family of 4.
At least give me a large grey bin like one of my neighbours has and I will try and go fortnightly.

If this proposperous, ill-thought, none consulted idea goes ahead, I urge people on here to locate the home address of their local councillor (not hard to do) and start to use their grey bin when their own is full, and if that is full, just leave it near by on their property.

Are recycling bins our legacy to the world ? They are a blight on the landscape of every day life.

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trog10b says...
6:14pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I can see the garden fires becoming a problem as people burn the waste they cannot fit in the bins. All those toxic fumes mixing with the clean washing that people have hanging on their washing lines. So the council saves a pounds here and spends several more fighting the spate of fires/fly tipping and general mess that it's going to cause, not to mention the amount of lost business/revenue due to sick days it's going to cause

Trafford council is supposedly run for the people, then come as the people what we want, don't tell us

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Bob_Smith says...
7:18pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Why has 'Messenger Newspapers' removed 2 posts (that I know of) containing the address of Cllr Coupe? His address is already in the public domain at https://www.trafford
.gov.uk/cme/live/dyn
amic/DemServCouncill
or.asp?councillor_id
=57CC7566-FE73-4CF8-
AEDD-B5796BED3C1B

As far as I could see there was nothing inciting or assisting a crime in those 2 posts nor breaching anyone's privacy.

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Bob_Smith says...
7:51pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Bob_Smith wrote:
Cllr Coupe tweeted that there are 227,000 people in trafford so the 4,200 "consulted" make up 0.02% of the Trafford population. Not exactly the same as saying this "has the support of people in the borough".
Sorry, I should correct myself here. 4,200 properties out of Trafford's 95,000 were surveyed. Therefore the sample is 4.4% assuming 2.4 people live in each property!

It is still pretty wild to say that this has the support of the people!

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S Lovatt says...
9:45pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Since our council tax helps to fund the refuse collections, how would Trafford MBC like it if we only paid half of the bill per year?... The other half could go for putting petrol in our vehicles and taking the refuse to the recycling centre ourselves... This is a bloody joke and will increase vermin to areas, fly tipping and more littler on the streets just like in has in other area that have fortnightly collections.
Trafford say that they have listened to those poled... well look at the comments on here and leave our bin collections at every week!!!

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dipperdapper says...
10:42pm Mon 25 Feb 13

trafford spent 29m on making the town hall look better and yet they are trying to save 38m or something which means the residents of trafford suffer, how can they do this to us and then expect even people on benefits to pay council tax, and dont talk utter crap to me about a freeze, a freeze yes it maybe but did you get more for your money 2 years ago? even last year than you will this year? see? your all being robbed and letting them get away with it grrrrrr #muppets

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papa03 says...
11:16am Tue 26 Feb 13

Email sent to Jonathan Coupe yesterday, I urge you all to do the same:

Dear Sir

I have read with great interest the changes to waste collection in Trafford. I note on the council website that you are calling it "improvements to your recycling and refuse collection services".

Can you please explain how this is an improvement, on the grounds that when Trafford residents were asked as a whole only 3 or 4 years ago, did we want:
a) small bins / weekly collection or,
b) keep large black bins / fortnightly service?

The overwhelming majority requested weekly service with small bins. How can you justify moving the goalposts so quickly after introducing the new small bins?

I have already read your website, so please do not insult my intelligence by referring back to that guff. Explain, why the council has conned the residents into getting smaller bins AND fortnightly service.

The survey was not required as the question had already been answered 3 years ago and was therefore, an inappropriate use of public money!

Your survey also shows very clearly in the answers, that the questions were loaded to the extreme in the first place.

I'm all for recycling, before you try and throw that back at me, and I am the head of a household with 5 permanent residents and therefore I am entitled to a larger bin, however.....we as residents are all entitled to a weekly service as voted for by the populace, the same people who vote for the councillors.

I look forward to your response. I have copied in Sale & Altrincham MP, Graham Brady, Sale and Altrincham Messenger, my local councillors and your council leader.

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chrisrad says...
12:38pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Whilst I'm sure some people will consider direct action against this ludicrous decision, I suggest people who voted for the Tories reflect on who to vote for next time in light of this announcement. What is the point of having no rise in Council Tax if rubbish is festering on the street and potholes go unfilled?

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mms98 says...
5:10pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Nice letter papa03, I have also read on the council website that grey bins will now have to be paid for, Im sure this is in a response to the many bins that will be borrowed(stolen) to cater for peoples needs.

Can I also mention to people that filling the metal council bins on the pavement is not allowed with a penalty fine issued if you do.

That was the reply we received after our black bin was not emptied on 3 seperate occasions.

3 phone calls, 2 emails were needed.

I said I will go outside and fill their bin on the pavement and was told it is illegal!!

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papa03 says...
10:58am Thu 28 Feb 13

http://www.messenger
newspapers.co.uk/you
rsay/letters/1025757
2.The_sums_don_t_add
_up_to_keep_weekly_b
in_collections/?acti
on=success

Another councillor gets in on the action
alan.mitchell@traffo
rd.gov.uk

I've had my say already and again copied in MP and local councillors

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