The new waste disposal scheme that one council has put in place for the collection of recycling and rubbish bins has caused over 6,000 people to submit a complaint. The problems occurred after the council issued each resident with five separate bins. The system, implemented by Torbay Council in Devon, replaces the old green wheelie bins with a new array of boxes.
Essentially, the council has asked about 60,000 residents to sort out their rubbish before it is collected. All of the boxes have a different type of rubbish that is supposed to be put inside them. Paper, food, tins, and card each have their own box. According to the council, this system of organized kerbside collections will save them £14 million each year. The company who runs the scheme, Tor2, says that it wishes to have over half of all waste recycled by the year 2012.
Tor2 has also said that this scheme will allow the council to meet the targets that the European Union has set for waste and recycling. Still, many residents are upset, claiming that the system is too complex. Instead of just two wheelie bins for recycling and general waste, residents now have to deal with five separate boxes with which to organize their rubbish. Thousands of complaints were received at the call centre for the scheme.
One resident has said that few people have enough time to “sort through rubbish”, and that the bins will ultimately take up “more room in the house”. Others are considered for elderly residents, saying that the added containers will mean that more heavy weight will have to be carried. The council is hoping that residents will be able to adjust over time.
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