Roll out of smaller black bins starts

Back in July 2016, we reported that the Conservative council would be cutting the black bin sizes from 240 litres to 140 litres. The roll out of the new smaller bins starts next Monday and will take around three months to complete.

 This is what will happen on the day yours changes:

• Your black bin will be emptied into the usual lorry.
• A crew following behind will remove the wheels and stack the old bins at the roadside in groups of ten. The stacks will be placed on their sides without blocking pavements, driveways or footpaths. 
• Later the same day, another vehicle will remove the old bins - most parts of the bin will be recycled. 
• Another crew will follow the round in the other direction, delivering new bins, so depending on where you are in the round you may get your new bin delivered before the old one is taken away.

Throughout this process your collection day will stay the same. You can find out more about recycling on the South Glos website. If you can't find the help you need online, call 01454 868000.

Black bin size cut

On Wednesday, the Conservatives and Labour voted to go ahead with the new waste strategy.

Your Focus Team welcomed the weekly recycling collections and the flexibility that residents will be given to choose boxes or bags for keeping their recycling in. When the draft strategy proposed switching everyone to boxes we raised concerns about people who have limited space and local people made the same point in the consultation. We also welcomed the reintroduction of a reusable nappy incentive scheme, which we hope will help more parents switch from disposable nappies.

The strategy also includes replacing the current 240 litre black bins with 140 litre ones, despite other local authorities having opted for 180 litres. North Somerset for example has managed to achieve a better recycling rate with 180 litre black bins. We are worried that 140 litres may be a step too far.

We are also very concerned about the new disposable nappy service, that will mean parents who can't fit used nappies in their new smaller bin will have to leave them in special bags out on the street. We are worried that animals will be able to get in, the smell will get out and if the waste teams find they contain anything other than nappies they will refuse to take them, leaving them for the following fortnight's collection.

We proposed an amendment that instead of creating a new service, with all the costs of providing the bags, would have let families with small children keep their 240 litre bins until their children were 3 years old. This would have been simpler for residents and the waste crews and would have meant used nappies were still in a solid bin. Unfortunately this was voted down. We hope that having heard our concerns council officials will keep a close eye on how this service works in practice.

Bins and buses over Christmas

If you're wondering when your recycling and rubbish will be collected over Christmas, you can find out on the South Glos website. On the same page you can also find out the opening times for the Sort IT centres and the best way to dispose of your Christmas tree and cards when the time comes.

South Glos has also provided details of changes to local bus timetables over Christmas.

Latest on bin collections

As blogged here, SITA went back to using the standard collection calendar on Monday 25th January and as of Saturday 6th they have now completed a full two week cycle on black bins, green bins and green boxes. Because some householders may not have placed their bin out on the timetabled day, due to all the disruptions, SITA crews will continue to collect side waste for the next two week cycle.

The Council is aiming to learn from this experience and has reviewed its plans for coping with difficult situations such as the one faced in January. In future, they hope to keep residents better informed during disruptions.

Merry Christmas from your Focus Team

Merry Christmas from your Focus Team. We hope you have an enjoyable festive season.

If you're wondering about changes to Council services over Christmas, you can find information on the South Glos website. For example you can find out the changed days for bin collections and the library opening times.

Is your bin being completely emptied?

A resident contacted Claire Young this week to say that for two collections running their black bin had not been completely emptied. Had they not rung the Council to complain, food waste could have been sitting in the bottom of their bin for a month.

The Council can penalise SITA if bins are missed or not emptied properly, but they need residents to report problems so they can be logged with SITA and performance monitoring started. To do this, call Street Care on 01454 868000 and select option 1.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from your Focus Team.

PS If you're wondering when your bin will be collected over the Christmas period, you can find the details on the South Glos website.