Waste and Recycling
Local Issues
This link applies to local issues related to Bexley Council. In some cases the problems documented have now been resolved, but sometimes it seems more problems just come in their place.
Crap Disposal Service?
Why do the authorities make life so difficult when trying to dispose of waste? At Bexley Council's waste and recycling centre, the management is a disgrace. You have to jump through hoops just to get rid of your rubbish. Go in van and you're required to have a hard hat and hi-vis vest. Why do you need a hardhat? The only real danger is likely to be the seagulls pooping on your head. If you don't know the score and haven't got a hardhat, they'll sell you one for £12.00, or you can't offload your rubbish. No wonder people flytip! And who has to pay for that? We do! During Covid, cars were required to go on days aligning with the odd or even registration numbers of their cars. One resident turned up to offload some waste on the wrong day, and even though there was no-one else waiting, they still wouldn't let her in. A crap and inflexible service is very unhelpful and not really what residents want to see from the management!
Rubbish Incineration
A call for more investigation into the pros and cons of rubbish incineration, which is very good in principle, in as much as it enables us to reclaim energy from our waste and save on land fill sites. Some people feel that rubbish incineration is not safe because of the waste gases released into the atmosphere. However, with today's technology can this problem be overcome? What exactly are the facts and can this otherwise highly efficient way of disposing of our rubbish and reclaiming energy from it be made safe?
More Emphasis On Recycling
A call for the relevant local authorities to do the recycling. In other countries they have already achieved up to 90% recycling. We are lucky if we can manage 10%, and this has to be largely done by the householder. Our figures may be improving slowly but in other countries the authorities take a far more active role in achieving this goal, which puts us to shame considering the amount of money we are charged.
Free Wheelie Bins For All
A call to issue all residences with a free wheelie bin, which will protect the black rubbish sacks from scavenging animals, such as cats, dogs, foxes, rats and racoons, and thereby, stop rubbish being spilt onto the streets and pavements, where inevitably it is just left.
Finally implemented for London Borough of Bexley in the summer of 2008
Clean Up Spilt Contents
A call for someone to take responsibility for, and clean up, the rubbish and recyclables spilt during the weekly collection round. If the bin men are too busy to pick up what they spill during the collection, someone else should be following up behind to do the job for them. At the moment spilt rubbish and recyclables are just left to litter the roads and pavements because nobody bothers to pick it up. Likewise, rubbish spilt from unprotected black sacks that are ripped open by scavenging animals, is also just left to look unsightly on the roads and pavements. Not ideal by any means!
Street Litter
A call to get the streets clean.
A suggestion to use young offenders on community service to tidy the streets.
With the number of young offenders we are cultivating at the moment our streets
will be gleaming in no time.
Don't Encourage Fly-Tipping
Efforts to be made to provide
more accessible facilities for people to dispose of unwanted items. Nobody wants
them left by the side of the road or on a fly-tip. People have to be persuaded
and educated to do the right thing by one means or another and the facilities
have to be provided.