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Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Freddie Dawkins (30th Apr 2004 - 16:44:11) Okay, so EHDC decided to do spot checks this morning on the recycling bins. I checked Headley Road at midday, from the dentists down to Tunbridge Lane (yes, I am becoming a right little anorak). Anyways, just about half the grey bins had yellow stickers, claiming that they were either contaminated or not fully closed -both reasons for non-collection. BUT, I know of at least 3 Headley Road bins which were not emptied, were stickered, and yet were fully compliant with the rules. No response yet from EHDC - anyone else feeling slightly aggrieved? Freddie Dawkins

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Grahame Polley (3rd May 2004 - 19:31:47) We had the same problem in Hazelbank Close a couple of weeks ago. We rang the council to ask why six bins hadn't been emptied and they also said they were contaminated. Ours certainly wasn't. I suspect that they just forgot to empty them and someone in the office just came up with a standard excuse. No apology at all.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Mike Grimes (4th May 2004 - 10:43:32) I had a helpful conversation with a guy from Penns Place who suggested that in the event of a bin not being emptied, if the owner of that bin were to leave the contents outside the front entrance of the EHDC offices, a representative from the enviromental services team would gladly deal with it. "It would be the least we could do, under the circumstances", I imagined him saying, "after all, you are paying for this service"

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Freddie Dawkins (4th May 2004 - 11:53:32) Grahame, Mike - thx for that. Nice dream, Mike!! Here's the response I had this morning from the nameless "contracts" at Penns Place: "Thank you for your enquiry about why your recycling bin was not emptied last Friday. I have checked the contractors log sheets and they found a plastic waste bin which I am afraid we are unable to recycle. The only plastic items which can be placed in the bin are plastic bottles with a 1, 2 or 3 in the triangle. Please remove any non recyclable items and put them in your refuse bin. If your recycling bin is full, you may place excess recycling next to your black bin a cardboard box or clear plastic bag. You should have received our latest edition of Partners magazine during the past month. Inside you will find an updated poster showing what items you can and can't recycle. If you no longer have your copy please let me know and I will be pleased to send you a recycling poster." Mmmmm. Well, I checked my bin very carefully (and those of quite a few others in Headley Road last Friday morning) thinking that maybe we had put something in wrongly - or even that EHDC had changed their acceptable list. No. So, I'm right, they are wrong. I have sent the following reply: "Many thx for quick response. However, the contractor's log is wrong. We do not place plastic waste bins in our recycling bins. I checked the contents very carefully after receiving the yellow sticker last Friday. At the same time, while the bins were still on the roadside, I checked with a number of Headley Road residents who also had yellow stickers last week. At least two others could prove to me that their bins were okay for collection. I understand there was a similar spate of incorrect yellow stickering in Hazelbank Close a few weeks ago. This is an issue which needs to be looked at more thoroughly with the contractors. If it is now EHDC policy to have spot-checks, fine. But could I suggest a more pro-active aproach would be to publicise upcoming spot-checks through the local media, and encourage rather than punish. It seems to work for the BBC in collecting it's licence fee." I think that's a fair response. Let's see if "contracts" at EHDC has the wit to do something positive. rgds to all Freddie

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Steve Read (4th May 2004 - 22:39:49) With regards to Mike's letter about leaving rubbish outside Penns Place I can go one better. Prior to wheelie bins the old dustbins were prone to foxes overturning unless a suitable weight was placed on top if you put out the night before, then you had to be careful because if the weight was too excessive the men would not remove it prior to emptying thus you were left with a full bin. Because the lorry came at the same time every morning I used to put the bins out before going off to work around 7.30am without worrying about the foxes. Without prior warning they changed the collection times this particular week arriving at some god earthly hour while I was just getting out of bed, rushing out with two bins in an attempt to catch the lorry full of laughing blokes driving down the road leaving our bins and most of the roads bins not emptied. On calling Penns Place I was subjected to the usual "jobsworth" telling me my bins should have been put out the night before and that they had changed the collection times and they did not have to inform us. When I pointed out about the foxes and if the bins were overturned they would not clear up the mess. The reply was to quote "Tough". Loading full bins into the back of my van off I went down to Penns Place and promptly walked into the reception with the bins and sat down awaiting to be dealt with. Its amazing the response one can get if you simply inform them that if someone does not deal with this in the next 5 mins the contents of said bins will be emptied on the floor in the reception. Moral of this tale, maybe it might pay to take the wheelie bins down to Penns Place and ask them in there to check the contents for contamination in person.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Steve (5th May 2004 - 10:16:18) I am most certainly up for that, infact I am going to do that anyway. I will enjoy emptying my rubbish on their doorstep every week. I find the binmen useless and lazy. I often get home to find my bin directly in the middle of my drive or worse in the middle of the road causing a danger to other road users. It may only be a small street but how stupid is that? I had my bin left a few months ago and phoned up to complain. They sent a special bin collection round and emptied it which was good but it took a lot of arguing to get it done. I have religously seperated all recycle stuff with normal stuff and still we don't get a decent service so I'm giving up, whatever bin is empty is having the rubbish in from now on. The EHDC charge too much for too little so they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Freddie Dawkins (5th May 2004 - 10:21:54) Steve - Quite like the visual image of your solution. Ha ha. Here's the latest response, received this morning from "Contracts": "I have checked again with the contractors and they state that they found a small plastic bin of the type used in a bathroom. The collection crews are under instructions to check all bins before emptying. If the recycling load is contaminated this could result in the whole load going to landfill instead of the recycling plant, which would mean that the efforts of people such as yourself would go to waste. I am sorry that I cannot ask them to return but I have passed your comments to David Feltham, the Contracts Manager for refuse and recycling. We do try to communicate these messages to residents on a regular basis - mainly through the press and our residents' magazine 'Partners'. We will also be mailing all residents during the summer with an update on the refuse and recycling service ." Wrong. Again. Looks like I could exchange messages forever on this one..... Anyone else here live in Headley Road, Hazelbank Close or elsewhere and been victim of incorrect yellow stickering? I think we need to take a co-ordinated action and maybe some DIRECT action will focus attention. Freddie

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Paul Robinson (5th May 2004 - 22:22:53) Oxford Concise Dictionary defines 'Partner' as one who takes part with another or others in business or firm to share benefit. How many copies of 'Partners' does it take to fill a wheelie bin? Paul Robinson

YOUTHS ORDERED TO CLEAN UP RUBBISH MESS - Mike Grimes (6th May 2004 - 00:23:52) The following (true) news story has a pertinent message which inspired a famous 1966 song : YOUTHS ORDERED TO CLEAN UP RUBBISH MESS LEE -- Because they couldn't find a dump open in Great Barrington, two youths threw a load of refuse down a Stockbridge hillside on Thanksgiving Day. Saturday, Richard J. Robbins, 19, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and Arlo Guthrie, 18, of Howard Beach, N. Y., each paid a fine of $25 in Lee District Court after pleading guilty of illegally disposing of rubbish. Special Justice James E. Hannon ordered the youths to remove all the rubbish. They did so Saturday afternoon, following a heavy rain Police Chief William J. Obanhein of Stockbridge said later the youths found dragging the junk up the hillside much harder than throwing it down. He said he hoped their case would be an example to others who are careless about disposal of rubbish. The junk included a divan, plus nearly enough bottles, garbage, papers and boxes to fill their Volkswagen bus. "The stuff would take up at least half of a goodsized pickup truck," Chief Obanhein said. The rubbish was thrown into the Nelson Foote Sr. property on Prospect Street, a residential section of Stockbridge consisting largely of estates on the hill across from Indian Hilil [sic] School. Chief Obanhein told the court he spent "a very disagreeable two hours" looking through the rubbish before finding a clue to who had thrown it there. He finally found a scrap of paper bearing the name of a Great Barrington man. Subsequent investigation indicated Robbins and Guthrie had been visiting the Great Barrington man and had agreed to cart away the rubbish for him. They told the court that, when they found the Barrington dump closed, they drove around and then disposed of the junk by tossing it over the Stockbridge hillside. Name the song (recital) and I'll reply with the lyrics

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Eneida Nelson (7th May 2004 - 08:09:19) Someone has been interfering with the bins again last night (wasn't you Freddie was it?). "Let's kick some bins on our way home.. oh what fun!" How sad's that. The outcome is that one was left in the middle of our drive and the binmen coming before we had a chance to move it and obviously thinking we were being cheeky by having 2 bins didn't empty it. So if someone on the Headley Road is missing a bin it's near No. 45 - full. Eneida

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - kathryn (7th May 2004 - 12:52:50) What's your problem? Leave the poor bin men alone, they are only doing their job. I don't expect they enjoy ferreting through the bins anymore than you guys do. Let's face it, if you are being really honest the bins probably had the wrong stuff in them. Look out for the triangles in future it might help! What is more irritating is the irresponsible people dumping rubbish at the bottle banks at Sainsbury's - last week a TV, previously 4 car wheels! I ask you - what laziness. Perhaps we should have a map directing them to the local tip?

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Freddie Dawkins (7th May 2004 - 16:00:15) Hi, Eneida - Nope. N ot guilty on that one. Not surprised full bin is still sitting there though. Kathryn - Steady. I think we are generally having a go at EHDC - not the poor guys who have to do the collections. And you only have to know a bit of the history of the waste collection saga to know that most of us are fed up with poor service, annually increasing costs, and an almost "we know better than the taxpayers" attitude from some of the staff at Penns Place. You'll never convince many of us, who believe that it was a disaster to cut collections by half. Yet increase our taxes at the same time. It's no good EHDC bandying stats at us about the need for recycling - and by the way constantly patting themselves on the back with Press Releases saying what a wonderful job they are doing and how they head this or that Government table. We, the taxpayers, pay for all this PR garbage. Yes, as a society we need to recycle more. Yes, EHDC needs to sort out more efficient waste disposal systems. Yes, it's a disgrace that so much of the correctly sorted recyclables (?) go to landfill. Oh yes, they have and still do. Gnome

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Allan (7th May 2004 - 16:04:52) Mike, I reckon it was "Alice's Restaurant Massacree". I'll expect the full 16 minute recital next time you're in!.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Paul Robinson (7th May 2004 - 20:46:40) As an early riser on my way to an appointment in central London I can confirm that the upturned bin was a major hazard to the Headley Road. The contents strewn up the road could have been the result of dogs or badgers but I rather think that it was more likely that whoever had turnedc the bin over thought it was a good idea to kick the contents up the road. I feel I should point out that this has nothing to do with EHDC or their agents who collect the bins and that they should not be responsible for picking up the rubbish redistributed by vandals.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Mike Grimes (8th May 2004 - 23:21:21) Quite right Allan, it was (of course) Alice's Restaurant (by Arlo Guthrie - son of Woody Guthrie) and I won't post the recital because it would take 16 minutes for Ed. to read it to ensure it wasn't inciting anti-war demonstrations. Here is the link though http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/alices.shtml You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant Walk right in, it's around the back Just a half a mile from the railroad track You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant RECITATION: This song is called "Alice's Restaurant." It's about Alice, and the restaurant, but "Alice's Restaurant" is not the name of the restaurant, that's just the name of the song. That's why I call the song "Alice's Restaurant." Actually, the song has very little to do with Alice (who does not have a restaurant), the pertinent point of the song (and this post) is that if anyone was seriously considering delivering the contents of their bin to Penn's Place then it might make sense not to include envelopes with your name and address on but replace them with envelopes with David Feltham's address.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Paul Robinson (16th May 2004 - 08:47:46) Our black re-cycling bin was not collected on Friday 14th May from the Headley Road. It was necessary for me to take the bin to the reclamation dump at Bordon and redistribute its contents into the appropriate skips. There was a queue to get into the dump and the whole affair took about an hour and a half including travelling time En route I took the bin to Freddie Dawkins to verify that it was neither overful or 'contaminated' At Freddie's suggestion I have e-mailed EHDC drawing their attention to the above problem and asking who I should send the invoice to for my time and costs involved in getting rid of the rubbish, a job that I have already paid them to do. I await their response with interest. Paul Robinson

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Mike Grimes (16th May 2004 - 21:35:44) A queue huh? That figures!

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Freddie Dawkins (17th May 2004 - 21:49:45) Paul - I can totally vouch for your comments with regard to what was in your bin. All perfectly okay according to the EHDC list. Also strange they didn't yellow sticker you. Maybe they just forgot your bin? What response from Penns Place today? And everyone here: I still have the green wheelie bin from more than a week ago. No-one's claimed it here or at Penns Place. Quite happy to store it until owner surfaces. I did put a poster up in the chip shop (thx, Pam). But no requests for return yet. rgds to all. Freddie

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Paul Robinson (20th May 2004 - 21:40:37) For those watching this thread eager to get to the bottom of the current spate of uncollected bins I submit the following reply from E H D C Dear Mr Robinson "Having looked through our crew records, it appears as if your bin was not collected because it had bubble wrap in it. The Material Recovery Facility does not accept this material and it is not on our list of items that should be placed in the black wheelie bin. You can dispose of it by placing it in your green refuse bin or by taking it to the amenities site. Having said the above the Council has received a number of complaints from residents who were not aware that items such as shredded paper, bubble wrap, polystyrene, black plastic sacks and plastic bags were not allowed in the bin. The crews collecting the bins have not been consistent in their approach and have in the past collected these items. Although the Council has advertised in the paper and in Partners magazine it has come to our attention that we need to urgently address our information and publicity. As a result of the complaints received last week and this coming to our attention, we are asking the crews to collect the above items until 6th September. Before this date we have planned to write to all residents with information, carry out some publicity and to train our crews so that the message is consistent. The Materials Recovery Facility that processes our recycling have been asked to allow us some degree of contamination before that date. They require a process that will be efficient otherwise the operator will charge more for sorting and that would result in a recharge to the Council tax payer. Although some materials are recyclable we cannot take them unless we have a market to sell them on to, therefore we can only collect the items from residents that are on our advertised lists. I understand that having your bin left is frustrating when you are an avid recycler and we are doing all we can to address the situation as we do not want to upset people who are recycling. The Materials Recycling Facility and Hampshire local Authorities have a group called Project Integra and this group is looking for markets for other items so that in the future we can take these as well. As to the payment of your Council Tax, it is a tax that is legally payable whether or not you receive a service from your local Council. For example you cannot opt out of paying a proportion of the Council tax that goes to a school or a library because you don't use it. Having said this the refuse collection service is a very small part of your overall Council Tax bill. To give you an idea last year refuse collection cost on average £48 per household, which is less than £1 a week. Yours sincerely Joanne Penney Environmental Services Managere following reply to my e-mail to E H D C." So there you have it. Bubblewrap is not acceptable neither is shredded paper. Not wishing to split hairs, for where would I put split hairs if I wanted to dispose of them? I get a lot of my post in padded bags. Some of these are padded with bubblewrap between the brown paper outer covering. Others are lined with shredded paper (dessicated paperbacks actually, and I speak as a bookseller so I should know!) Ms Penney overlooks two points that relate to this matter. 1)My bin was not stickered with an explanatory label. 2) I was not asking for a rebate on my Council Tax I want payment for the work and time involved in dumping my recyclable rubbish in the bins at Bordon recycle point.

Re: Waste bins - Outraged! - of Headley Road - Tina (21st May 2004 - 22:08:16) Hi all I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with a waste bin problem. For the last three weeks none of my bins were emptied, and no yellow sticker appeared. After several very costy phone calls to the council and a few very angry words they allowed me to place all my rubbish in my drive on thursday. They eventually came to remove it. All 12 bags as we are a family of four and one is a baby. Nice smelly nappies which the area controller had to come over to smell. It turned out that the council is using contractors to remove our rubbish. They have decided not to allow us to put recycle rubbish in non clear bags as they can't check it, but they didn't notify the council for several months which is why residents have not been notified. Why can't the council not admit their mistakes? Well, because then they will have to rectify them, and that is too much hard work.

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