News

| Submit CommentSubmit Comments | View CommentsView Comments(4)
Jeff Eno, of Heaton Chapel
Jeff Eno, of Heaton Chapel
advertisement

Residents see red over green bins

Peter Devine
23/ 4/2008

FURIOUS green-fingered residents from across the borough have vented their fury after Stockport Council sent letters to them saying their green bin collection had been withdrawn.

The householders from areas including Brinnnington and the Heatons, were sent personally addressed cards informing them: "We are sorry we can’t provide a garden waste collection service at your property."

And in the cards - which the council now admits were sent in error - residents were further advised to compost it, or take it to a household waste recycling centre or "put your garden waste in your (blue) bin bag with your general waste".

Mrs Beryl Shufflebotham, of Goyt Crescent, who won garden of the year with Stockport Council three years ago, was outraged by the notice.

She explained: "I am so angry about this. We are all gardening mad down here and the green bin system is a lifesaver. Before the bins came along most of the garden waste was tipped on nearby derelict land.

"I would be completely devastated if they were to scrap this service, and I would definitely stop recycling in protest."

Jeff Eno, of Broadstone Hall Road North, Heaton Chapel, (pictured) said: "To my utter dismay I discover that Stockport Council has decided to suddenly stop providing a garden waste collection at my property and others in this area. What happened to the Council’s green recycling policy?"

A Council spokesman said: "Around 1,000 households across the borough that receive the garden waste service have been sent incorrect versions of a calendar that suggests they will no longer receive the service.

"We can confirm that all households currently on the garden waste service will not see any changes to that service, and there are no plans for it to be withdrawn or for the collection days to change. We apologise to those residents who were sent the incorrect version of the calendar. The incorrect ones were intended for residents in flats and houses not currently part of the garden waste collection scheme.A small percentage of the total distributed contained an error, which was due to incorrect data supplied by the previous holders of the waste management contract."

The leader of the Labour group on Stockport Council Coun Peter Scott said: "I am happy to to quoted on the fact that this is yet another council cock-up."

Coun Les Jones, the leader to the Tory group said: "Following on so soon after see-through bin bag fiasco, the Council has made another mess of waste services provided to residents.

"The wrong postcards have been sent out to thousands of households across the borough. While I accept that mistakes can happen, it just goes to show that under this Liberal Democrat Council there don’t appear to be adequate systems in place to prevent such a disastrous error. A considerable amount of expense and taxpayers money will go into correcting this."


| Submit CommentSubmit Comments | View CommentsView Comments(4)


Most recent 2 of 4 user comments

   Mrs Shufflebotham - how on earth would refusing to recycle in protest help the situation?? Apart from the fact that you would be doing more harm to the planet, if enough people did that the council would just turn round and say that if you aren't going to use the service, it won't be provided at all. The problem here is people have got used to being spoilt. I have friends who live in areas where their recycling isn't collected and, shock horror, they have to make some effort themselves to dispose of their own waste sensibly. It's not exactly difficult - almost every supermarket has recycling facilities. Bag it up, put it in the boot before you go and you've also then got carrier bags with you that you can re-use instead of taking new ones.
Phillipa Walker, Stockport
15/05/2008 at 15:16
   Unfortunately I only realised too late that I had recycled my collection calendar as it looked at home amongst the usual pile of junk mail which goes straight in the bin.
Donald, manchester
25/04/2008 at 16:50
Have your say
 
Have your say Got an opinion you want to share?
Register now and have your comments heard.

Register now

Latest stories
 

 
Sats tests
 

Should less emphasis be placed on the results of tests and more emphasis on general education for children?

89%
11%

Personal Finance
 

Customers with a 'good' credit profile
Company Typical APR
FirstPlus Exclusive Rate 6.6%
Moneyback Bank 7.2%
Barclaycard Personal Loan 7.3%
Alliance & Leicester 7.7%
Halifax (Semi-exclusive) 7.8%
Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) 7.8%
Barclays 7.9%
Easy Access
Provider AER*
ICICI BANK
HiSAVE Savings Account 		6.16%
BRADFORD & BINGLEY
Internet Saver 2 		6.00%
ICESAVE
Easy Access Account 		6.05%
PRINCIPALITY BS
e-SAVER 		5.75%
SAINSBURYS BANK
internet saver 		5.50%
Fees may apply