Our response

As thousands of angry residents phone Brent Council to complain about the new household waste collection service, we speak out yet again.

Elaine Henderson, waste spokesperson for Brent Friends of the Earth, says: “Friends of the Earth believes that fortnightly emptying of grey bins (the stuff that cannot be recycled) will encourage increased recycling.  We welcome the higher targets Brent has set.  However we have raised questions about increased carbon emissions resulting from the new co-mingled collection system, also whether the £1.7 million spent on the new bins can be justified in view of cuts to street sweeping and other services, and the likely export of recyclables for reprocessing.

“We expressed concerns to council officers over a year ago that the new system would be unpopular with residents and require a well-resourced high-profile communications strategy to explain the changes.  It would have been far better to have pictures of the new materials collected on the new wheelie bins, plus people knocking on doors to get the message across, than relying on leaflets that can easily get lost or be misunderstood.   Brent could also use Streetwatchers or former Green Zones leaders to help educate neighbours if funds are tight.

“Now that glass is thrown in the bins, we are all living next to noisy bottle banks, and it is the broken glass that contaminates paper and other recyclables, making it unlikely that UK reprocessors will buy them.”

Read the full press article here http://brentfoe.com/node/145

Our concerns over ‘co-mingling’ are backed up by a Channel 4 Dispatches programme.  Watch it here

See our earlier response to the Waste Strategy consultation here

Lorraine Skinner explores problems with the new waste collection:

And the sequel here: