Wheelie bins: Council not planning to extend their use beyond garden waste

On Tuesday (Nov 10), the council’s cabinet approved a proposal for a two-year pilot scheme for a kerbside garden waste collection scheme.

The subscription scheme would see residents issued with a 240-litre brown wheelie bin. Households can apply for up to three extras.

The cost is set to be £49 per year to cover a maximum of 24 fortnightly collections throughout the year.

An alternative option for residents who want to use the scheme on an ad hoc basis or for properties where a wheelie bin would be unsuitable is to buy ten paper sacks for £15.

In a letter to Coun Porter, Spalding resident Wayne Seaborn said: “This authority has refused to accept the eyesore of wheelie bins for many years. Now all of a sudden it appears these bins are acceptable, what has changed please?”

He also wanted to know how the council would police the bins, adding: “Or are we expecting these additions to blight our rural landscape by being parked on front drives or even adopted paths?”

Waste management portfolio holder Coun Roger Gambba-Jones told The Voice that residents will be treated as service customers in the same way that a private contractor would, with terms and conditions.

He said: “We are putting the onus on the customer to make sure they safeguard these wheelie bins. If they don’t look after the equipment then we, as the contractor, retain the right to withdraw the service.

“If we find a wheelie bin is left out after we have done our part of the service in emptying it then we will retrieve it.”

He added that he would be “foolish” to rule out more widespread use of wheelie bins but as long as residents tell the council they want a weekly collection with bags, that is what the authority would strive to maintain.

Mr Seaborn represented Spalding St John’s ward but resigned in 2009 after complaints over how few meetings he attended. He was elected as a Conservative group member but moved to non-aligned.