Topic: | Re: Garden Waste | |
Posted by: | Bassam Mahfouz | |
Date/Time: | 05/11/11 23:04:00 |
Dear Mr Knox, I am certain that there will not be an increase in fly-tipping as a consequence of this new scheme. Around a third of local authorities charge for garden waste collection across the country. Where we can compare with nearby boroughs, there has not been a problem so there is no reason there should be in Ealing. You may be aware but we have last year launched our 24/7 Grimebusters Hotline for fly-tips and graffiti removal. You can call any time of day or night Mon-Sun and report it and it should be collected within 24 hours. The number is 020 8825 8825. When the new contract starts we will also start sweeping our streets the same day that rubbish and recycling has been collected, rather than waiting till the next day. This should be a really visible improvement for everyone and because of the saving we are making with garden waste charges, we can guarantee to improve the street cleaning service as I have mentioned above. If we go down the route the Conservatives are proposing (well some of them, if they can get their act together on what they actually believe on this) would lead to having residential streets swept only once every three weeks and possibly worse still having no graffiti or fly-tip removal teams at all. Not sure where the £50 figure comes from but it does not relate to our charges, I believe Albertina was talking about a type of compost bin that Philippa has suggested. Of course households are free to share a subscription for the service and the wheelie bin/hessian sacks as appropriate, which would be along a similar sort of line to what Philippa is suggesting, should neighbours wish to do this. We have been clear from the start that the charges are £40 or £30 (for those who are elderly or on the lowest incomes). These, as I have said in my previous post, are cheaper than other west London boroughs who have the same system. We are of course also keeping access to our waste sites free if people wish to take the garden waste down directly and as mentioned previously, offering cheap compost bins for those who wish to do this with most or all of their garden waste. Hope this answers your question. I'll post again once we've got the FAQs up to hopefully clarify any mis-information that has been passed around on this issue. Best wishes, Bassam |