We've bin thinking (From This Is Local London)

We've bin thinking

2:26pm Saturday 5th August 2006 in

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MAGGOTS, decaying rubbish and smells have forced the district council into a £200,000 rethink over its fortnightly waste collection policy.

The environmental services department received more than 7,000 complaints last month alone from residents with overflowing wheelie bins festering in the hot weather.

Portfolio holder Stephen Metcalfe, who has responsibility for refuse collections, said: "We have listened."

At the last full council meeting councillors voted to introduce temporary weekly collections as soon as possible' until the end of September, and agreed to reconsider its policy for next year with the possibility of at the very least a weekly summer collection'.

'The general consensus is that nothing less that weekly collections will do.'

Buckhurst Hill resident Lyn Goudge

Now 1,000 residents in Buckhurst Hill have signed a petition calling on the council to scrap fortnightly collections completely.

Petition organiser Lyn Goudge said: "The general consensus is that nothing less than weekly collections will do. Everyone is for recycling. Everyone is really happy with the recycling process and sees the need to reduce the landfills, but the major concern is getting the rubbish collected every week.

"I opened my dustbin last week and it was infested with flies and maggots and disgusting smells so I started the petition. The number of signatures we've had in just a week is amazing. It shows the strength of local feeling."

Mr Metcalfe said temporary weekly collections were expected to restart mid-August once extra staff had been appointed and trained and additional collection vehicles brought in.

He said: "It's the service that effects everyone in the district the single biggest customer-facing service the council provides. You can't just turn a big service like waste management on and off.

"But it's the service that people tell us is most important to them. That's why we've got to get it right."

The temporary collections will cost £32,000 a week, but councillors are hopeful that cost can be reduced in the long term by re-tendering the waste management contract.

Mr Metcalfe said: "It's an opportunity to change what's in the contract. It gives us an opportunity to address the issues that are concerning our residents now. To look at best practice at other councils and draw up the best deal for our district."

Council leader Di Collins said: "It's not without cost. We can't pretend it's going to be done for nothing."

But she said a new contract, potentially covering seven to ten years, should create savings when compared to the current agreement with Cory Environmental which had to be drawn up in an emergency after previous partner South Herts Waste Management went into administration.

The tender procedure is expected to take six to nine months.

Mrs Goudge said: "Our petition aims to keep the pressure on and remind councillors that as residents we need weekly collections."