LETTER: Green Bag Lottery sham

Having been recently retired I have noticed that when it comes to our weekly recycling collection, one of the refuse collectors goes ahead of the lorry and piles up all the road’s green bags in one pile – which obviously saves time and effort, and means they can collect more efficiently.

I have spoken to council employees and I understand that in more rural areas/places with fewer residential properties, this “pre-collection” is sometimes done in a van.

The point I would make is that this will make it impossible for the Green Bag Lottery to be fairly monitored, and that previous prize winners may either not have “owned” the winning bag, or alternatively, it is impossible for residents living where a “pre-collection” takes place, as if there are 15 bags in your driveway from the neighbouring properties, how can you tell which is from which house?

I will state that I do not care about the Green Bag Lottery, but I am an avid recycler – often having more than two bags a week – and on my seemingly weekly trips to the refuse centre in West Marsh Road, I take pride in the percentage displayed for recycled – though it can always be improved!

I formerly lived in Northampton and neighbours there tell me that we should be proud of our weekly collections of both green bag waste and black bag waste.

I do realise this and I do believe that South Holland District Council do a good job in this regard.

Unfortunately, this is the only thing they do well – apart from employing rude and unhelpful staff (in my many years of experience).

Mr P White
The Raceground
Spalding

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