Council does a U-turn after the furore over thinner refuse sacks (From Gazette)
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Council does a U-turn after the furore over thinner refuse sacks
8:00pm Tuesday 14th February 2012 in Colchester By Wendy Brading
Charles Rickwood shows how poorly the old bags fitted in his bin
PEOPLE power has won the day in the battle of the bin bags.
Faced with a barrage of criticism when it changed the plastic rubbish sacks supplied to householders, Colchester Council has given in and agreed to revert to the the old-style bags.
Residents complained the black bags, intended to be easier for visually-impaired people to use, were too small, impractical and flimsy.
Martin Hunt, councillor responsible for street and waste services, has confirmed the council is to resume issuing longer sacks without built-in ties.
He said: “I hold my hands up. We made a mistake.
“The flaps at the top were not satisfactory, so we are going back to the original shape.”
The council distributes a year’s supply of bags to each household every April and May.
Last year, it changed the bags, partly to save about £20,000, and partly to help people with vision problems to differentiate between black sacks and the clear ones, handed out for plastic items to be recycled.
However, Mr Hunt stressed the new bags would not cost any more that the present ones.
The decision has been welcomed by Charles Rickwood, 61, of Redwood Close, Colchester, who was one of those who complained about the change.
Mr Rickwood, a former technician with Colchester packaging company, Betts, said: “This is good news. I’m pleased we have won the day. It’s a triumph for people-power.
“The old bags were not long enough. They fitted around the rim of the bin, but when you put something in them, they collapsed.
“It meant while the council had saved some money, it was still wasting it as you could not use them.
“I am glad the council has listened to us.”
Comments(42)
jim_bo
says...
9:09pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Council rubbish collection is one of the only services that all citizens get.
Good for Mr Hunt to say sorry although I very much doubt it was his fault.
lollardknight
says...
9:55pm Tue 14 Feb 12
BlondeJo
says...
10:14pm Tue 14 Feb 12
It is all very well for 'Council Man' to mock, suggesting that the council representative needs to get a life and not worry about the bags, and to an extent I agree as I too detest Council pen-pushing, however, something that is to be worried about is finding the £135 demanded by law for Council Tax each month - when you then get substandard, limited supplies of bin bags in return, and split bags dumped by the side of the road, these seemingly trivial and insignificant matters suddenly matter a whole lot more.
californianana
says...
10:40pm Tue 14 Feb 12
its a private company not the city ...
jut1972
says...
10:41pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Council Man wrote:Remember who pays the salary you clown
Just think how much easier life would be if all we had to worry about was the flaps on our refuse sacks!
Get a life Mr Richwood you are truly one sad individual.
Enough said!
Boris
says...
11:20pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Let's hope they now reverse their decisions on more important things.
Feisty CBC
says...
11:34pm Tue 14 Feb 12
StopLookListen
says...
11:39pm Tue 14 Feb 12
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It was acknowledged some years ago that the biggest advance in hygiene and life improvement in the past century was the advent of dustbins and dustmen, although of course the names have now been changed, but the same results apply.
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If it is made more difficult and messy for the refuse to be collected, we are in for a downward fall as life gets dirtier and vermin are encouraged.
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Safe and secure refuse containers, whether they be metal dustbins, wheelie bins or plastic sacks, are important in the extreme. And yes, we do pay for them, so why should we be given something not "fit for purpose"?
Reginald47
says...
12:10am Wed 15 Feb 12
Yendor says
says...
7:32am Wed 15 Feb 12
Can these people honestly say that they are recycling everything they possible can ? - I suspect not.
As a family of five (with three young children) we recycle everything and as a result, put out minimal black bag rubbish each week.
Personally, whilst I noticed the bags were thinner I have never had one split.
Bhudeeka
says...
8:16am Wed 15 Feb 12
TheCaptain
says...
8:41am Wed 15 Feb 12
There is no point complaining I pay £135 a month Council Tax as most of this goes to Essex and very little to Colchester to collect your rubbish. There would be lots of maoning if CT went up to pay for a perfect service.
If you recycle properly as Yendor says then your bin bag will never be full.
wellnow
says...
9:00am Wed 15 Feb 12
6079 Smith W
says...
6:45pm Wed 15 Feb 12
californianana wrote:In Europe most of us realise a decent, tolerant, society comes with public services. So you can stick with your appalling poverty, people dying because they can't afford the health care, an infant mortality rate worse than much of the third world, and a country run by far right extremists and bible bashing, evolution denying fanatics, over there, thank-you very much. Even if this is what the Con-Dems want for us!
I'm sorry I. am not being mean. or sarcastic. but we supply our own trash. bags and we have to pay. approximately 13pounds a month to have it collected
its a private company not the city ...
StopLookListen
says...
7:28pm Wed 15 Feb 12
I'm sorry I. am not being mean. or sarcastic. but we supply our own trash. bags and we have to pay. approximately 13pounds a month to have it collected
its a private company not the city ..."
What on earth has this to do with the state of rubbish collection in the UK? Well, not much except that we are all on one earth and should be pulling together to save it.
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Still, I can't see why Californianana bothers to write in with what boils down to trivia about her own state and country. It doesn't do anything for Colchester and its state of health.
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It's also true as Winston says, that a decent society comes with decent public services - for all.
Boris
says...
2:08am Thu 16 Feb 12
Reginald47 wrote:Reginald, I don't know how I gave you the impression that I was sceptical, that wasn't my intention. I'm as happy as everyone else that we are going to have proper black bags again.
BlondeJo - if you're blind you can't tell the difference between a black sack and a clear sack by its colour can you? So the different shaped top helped. I, too, bought my own as they were hopeless, but I can't understand the scepticism of people like Boris. Couldn't it simply be that they are ordered every 12 months and the time for this year's order is now? Credit where credit's due - at least the portfolio holder has admitted he was wrong and put it right. I can't think of anything else that is important to everyone that the council has got so wrong.
I assume the reason CBC's costs will stay the same is because we shall get fewer bags in the annual batch, because we don't need as many as in pre-recycling days.
But you have to agree that in comparison with such issues as the bus station, sheltered housing, Tymperleys, Abbots, etc, this matter of the black bags is pretty trivial. As Feisty says, they don't cost much, and you can probably buy them from Jacks for even less that from Feisty's bloke.
Lord Newbold
says...
10:20am Thu 16 Feb 12
StopLookListen
says...
10:33am Thu 16 Feb 12
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Bins for paper sometimes take plastic bottles and even old clothing, and the "rules" change every now and then to include or exclude some item.
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No wonder people get confused!
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I guess if the authorities all put their backs into it and coordinated enough, there could be a better recycling future even than that we have now, and it could be that more income would be generated for the councils - much needed at this time.
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Big problem in finding the cash for wheelie bins, though. They do work, and save the earth in that they don't make us use millions of large plastic bags.
Lord Newbold
says...
10:52am Thu 16 Feb 12
Reginald47
says...
12:26pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Cliff
says...
12:37pm Thu 16 Feb 12
wellnow
says...
4:00pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Walt Jabsco
says...
4:41pm Thu 16 Feb 12
TheCaptain wrote:It is worth complaining if the 'bonus' you are provided with are pointless as they rip easily.....now thats a waste of money.
It is a bonus not a right to have black bin bags free. So if you don't like them buy your own.
There is no point complaining I pay £135 a month Council Tax as most of this goes to Essex and very little to Colchester to collect your rubbish. There would be lots of maoning if CT went up to pay for a perfect service.
If you recycle properly as Yendor says then your bin bag will never be full.
As for both your comments on recycling properly the responsibility is not just on the individual but also the service provider and manufacturers - we would love to recycle food waste but the service is not provided....could take it all down to the tip ourselves but as a 6 mile round trip in a car it kinda defeats the enviromental benefits doesnt it?
Also how much plastic packaging is still non-recyclable - this is the stuff thats stiff and normally rips your flimsy bin bags.
Boris
says...
4:50pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Cliff wrote:Cliff, it's good that you have recognised reality, but remember that when those ridiculous bags hit the streets, and people complained, you told them they were wrong and the new bags were ideal. But fair's fair, your reversion to common sense is most welcome, and we hope the same will apply to other more significant matters.
Dear Boris, you should know that I am changing them because the butterfly wings were, well, rubbish. There is an election every May and that has absolutely nothing to do with it. As for the other matters you mention we and ECC are providing a brilliant new bus station, the new use for Tymperleys as a high class Wilkin tea room is perfect, and I will never apologise for our desire to upgrade older person's accomodation, something most of our tenants want, or asking someone else to run an activity centre probably better than we did.
You know very well that the proposed new bus station will not work, because the drivers and the bus company executives have told you it won't, so please don't debase the currency by alleging that Lyn Barton's miserable proposal is "brilliant".
You also know very well that the grounds for attempting to close Joyce Brooks House are entirely mendacious. We shall see what emerges from the judicial review, but your mate Tim Young should not be counting his chickens yet.
If you had ever bothered to visit Joyce Brooks House, you would have realised that what your putative future tenants may wish for is very different from what your real tenants actually want. If Tim Young had ever consulted with those tenants, which as you know he did not do, he would have found out what was actually wanted, which is the continuation of community and family life. For any normal person this is far more important than an en-suite bathroom.
As for Abbots, if you are implying that Debbie Young has run it badly, I hope you will have the good grace to go there and tell her so face to face.
And as for Tymperleys, I agree Wilkins is better than some other possible outcomes, and I congratulate CBC on only giving them a 20-year lease. This means that in the lifetime of many Colcestrians there will be an opportunity to bring the house back into public use according to Bernard Mason's wishes.
6079 Smith W
says...
6:31pm Thu 16 Feb 12
6079 Smith W
says...
6:34pm Thu 16 Feb 12
PUBLIC MEETING - MON 27 FEB - 7.30
QUAKER FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
Church St (near Jumbo)
Speakers to include Joyce Brooks resident and U's legend Bobby Hunt
ALL WELCOME (including you Cliff)
6079 Smith W
says...
6:36pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Before the full council meeting that sets its annual budget
NEXT WED 22 FEB - 7.30 - TOWN HALL
6079 Smith W
says...
6:38pm Thu 16 Feb 12
6079 Smith W wrote:5.30, not 7.30.
STOP THE CUTS - DEFEND SHELTERED HOUSING - DEMONSTRATION
Before the full council meeting that sets its annual budget
NEXT WED 22 FEB - 7.30 - TOWN HALL
Boris
says...
8:43pm Thu 16 Feb 12
And of course all are welcome to join us at the Defend Sheltered Housing stall in Long Wyre Street, opposite Specsavers, noon to 2 pm this Saturday 18th.
Boris
says...
11:13pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Reginald47 wrote:Apologies Reginald, I answered Cliff but I didn't answer you.
Sorry, Boris, I wasn't suggesting there weren't other issues of concern - what I said was that this was the only issue that effects everyone in that we all get rubbish collected. The other issues you mention are, and I don't mean this rudely, minority interests of concern only to bus users who use the bus station, the small number of people who visited Tymperleys, and a small (but important) number of elderly folk. I thought you were being cynical when you suggested the bags were being changed only because an election was round thew corner!
As Cliff points out, there is an election every spring. This is preceded by setting the budget and presumably in the weeks and months leading up to that, all major contracts are reviewed to see if any money can be saved without upsetting the electors too much. Last year we were all upset about the flimsy new bags but all councillors retained their seats. This suggests that the bags on their own, even though we all have to use them, are not significant politically.
You suggest that the bus station, Tymperleys and sheltered housing are of only minority interest. Well, so is practically everything. But apart from the thousands who use the bus station every day, there are all the other road users who need local transport to work effectively, and that depends in large part on having a bus station that is fit for purpose.
As for Tymperleys, did you ever go there? You could have done. About 7500 people visited per year, which may not seem impressive, but it could have been a lot more if it had been properly publicised. And (as I have suggested on another thread) if a town wants to attract visitors, it has to have a great variety of attractions, and that is why Cambridge receives far more visitors than Colchester.
And as for the sheltered housing, come to our stall on Saturday, or the public meeting on the 27th, and listen to what people say about it. Most of us are not sheltered residents ourselves, but we like to think that if we need something like that in future, it will be there for us. Many of us have a relative or friend who is in sheltered housing, and we want to see them well housed in a friendly community such as that at Joyce Brooks House.
So these "minority interest" issues are really of interest to all of us. If we can't live in a decent community here in Colchester then we might as well give up, shut ourselves in our little boxes with our cheap booze from the supermarkets, and drink ourselves to death.
TheCaptain
says...
8:32am Fri 17 Feb 12
Walt Jabsco wrote:None of mine have ripped!!!
TheCaptain wrote:It is worth complaining if the 'bonus' you are provided with are pointless as they rip easily.....now thats a waste of money.
It is a bonus not a right to have black bin bags free. So if you don't like them buy your own.
There is no point complaining I pay £135 a month Council Tax as most of this goes to Essex and very little to Colchester to collect your rubbish. There would be lots of maoning if CT went up to pay for a perfect service.
If you recycle properly as Yendor says then your bin bag will never be full.
As for both your comments on recycling properly the responsibility is not just on the individual but also the service provider and manufacturers - we would love to recycle food waste but the service is not provided....could take it all down to the tip ourselves but as a 6 mile round trip in a car it kinda defeats the enviromental benefits doesnt it?
Also how much plastic packaging is still non-recyclable - this is the stuff thats stiff and normally rips your flimsy bin bags.
I recycle virtually everything and for a family of four there is so little to put iut in a bleck bag.
We are lucky as we are part of the Council's food waste trial. Hopefully that will be extended around the borough.
romantic
says...
9:02am Fri 17 Feb 12
Reginald47 wrote:Further to Boris´s reply to you, I would also make the point that you don´t necessarily know when you will need the services which others are fighting for.
Sorry, Boris, I wasn't suggesting there weren't other issues of concern - what I said was that this was the only issue that effects everyone in that we all get rubbish collected. The other issues you mention are, and I don't mean this rudely, minority interests of concern only to bus users who use the bus station, the small number of people who visited Tymperleys, and a small (but important) number of elderly folk. I thought you were being cynical when you suggested the bags were being changed only because an election was round thew corner!
Just because you do not use the buses now does not mean you will not need to in the future. You may not be an old person living in the places mooted for closure, but one day you could be. Would you cut all funding to schools just because you personally do not go to school? Or pull the plug on hospitals and doctors because you´ve not been ill for a while? You might find that one day these issues become personal to you and suddenly they will not be "minority interests".
It is, frankly, rather selfish of you to consider that anything which does not affect you personally is not that important for anybody else. None of us can see what the future might bring. It is a good exercise to sometimes step into somebody else´s shoes and see the world from their perspective.
notuagen
says...
9:52am Fri 17 Feb 12
StopLookListen
says...
10:03am Fri 17 Feb 12
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It's easy to make facile comments when we are young and in control of our habitat and with whom we co-habit. There is a point when most people realise that they don't have this control to the same extent any more, and it's an awful realisation. At that time they need the reassurance of familiar surroundings and companions. It may not be the case that this point has yet been reached at JB House, but surely some of the occupants are very heavily reliant on the routine and familiar surroundings/helpful friends. They are going to lose some of those friends in the natural course of events, granted, but to wrest them away in one action is fairly savage and thoughtless.
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Would notuagen be so sanguine about being forcibly re-housed and surrounded by people he doesn't know with whom he has to share a lot of facilities and services?
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As stated above, most of us need to continually remind ourselves of what it is like to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.
notuagen
says...
12:13pm Fri 17 Feb 12
romantic
says...
12:48pm Fri 17 Feb 12
notuagen wrote:let´s hope you never get old, sick, involved in an accident. Or your kids. Or your parents,. Or your friends. Sit in your splendid isolation and screw everybody else!
verbal diarrhea seems to be a common complaint.
StopLookListen
says...
5:01pm Fri 17 Feb 12
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Let's hope that when and if "these things happen" as you call it, to you, there is an isolation room available, and that your surroundings will be changed each time you get used to them and to the staff.
notuagen
says...
5:07pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Boris
says...
2:23am Sat 18 Feb 12
notuagen wrote:Yes, that's right, just accept whatever they throw at you. What a spineless attitude. Not only do you want to send people you don't like to the gas chambers (see other thread), but you would not object to being sent there yourself. Then, when confounded by your own contradictions, you spout gibberish. Very peculiar.
the bags were quite adequate for the amount of rubbish we should be throwing to land fill.the amount of hot air spouted on here about such a silly item?as for going anywhere near a meeting about stopping cuts and saving joyce brookes house,it's not as if the people there are being made homeless or the few losing their jobs are the only ones,these things happen.
notuagen
says...
2:54pm Sat 18 Feb 12
Boris
says...
3:18pm Sat 18 Feb 12
notuagen wrote:Of course I exaggerated for effect, but the essential point is that you won't resist anything, you will accept whatever the jacks-in-office choose to impose on you. We are supposed to live in a democracy so why do you behave like a subject of a dictatorship?
what ever and whoever,other than yourself "boris" mentioned gas chambers in any thread you sound very like the loonies in battle in seattle.you are one very sick person.
Council Man says...
8:10pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Get a life Mr Richwood you are truly one sad individual.
Enough said!