Forum Topic

Recycle collection mess

How is it Brentford streets look worse off every time the recycle collections are complete?The mess of paper and plastic on the pavements and roads is incredible. Surely when the tender is put up there should be a clause stating the same company should provide a post collection street clean.

Jai Williams ● 772d31 Comments

The Foxes simply knock them off the tops of wheelie bins ( which is one of the reasons so many get damaged.) They push them off parapets, drag them by the handle till they tip and shoving even bricks or breeze blocks off seems to have no problems.Also have to bear in mind that you are liable if a passer by gets hit or injured should a laden box fall or a weight become a trip hazard in the dark.The onus is on the resident - not the council.Also the plastic used is low quality ( to environmental specs laid down) and becomes brittle after 14 months so they lose their impact resistance and become brittle.Clever are the Foxes. I would rather vote for them than any human candidate, they would achieve more.

Raymond Havelock ● 739d

BTW Ealing advised residents to place their locked food waste bins on top of their wheelie bins.  This might work in LBH if you don't make much food waste.  We often don't put ours out every week.  I've also seen them hanging onnrailings.  Lots of us manage it.

Philippa Bond ● 739d

We have a nanny state council that interferes with daily life so much that they may as well include toilet training and shoe lace tying.Far to many are now so wrapped up that basics are a "Duh"?Same with government. It all seems to be dominating everything .Except so much is detrimental. Even if well intended. Achieves nothing significant but costs everyone ££££££sIt's gone too far and now we are stuck with this nonsense of arrogance over basic common sense and practice.

Raymond Havelock ● 743d

There are very many contraception methods. Women getting pregnant is not the ‘fault’ of the government and potty training is not the responsibility of the government.  Parenting is 100% the responsibility of parents!!

Steve Taylor ● 743d

There are very many contraception methods. Women getting pregnant is not the ‘fault’ of the government and potty training is not the responsibility of the government.  Parenting is 100% the responsibility of parents!!

Steve Taylor ● 743d

Steve TaylorBTW I understand that there is an 18 month waiting list for having a coil fitted and women are finding it difficult to get abortions.  If contraception is now difficult to get that doesn't help with keeping the population down and is likely to create very more wide-ranging problems.  Wouldn't it be better to help people to plan their family size easily?

Philippa Bond ● 744d

Maybe that is the reason that we have such an uncaring self-serving Govt?  Cutting so many services so unnecessarily for so long was unconscionable.  You'd think if you wanted workers (especially if you aren't allowing any into the country and farms and abattoirs, the care service and NHS is heavily underfunded and shortstaffed) you would make more of an effort to make sure that those here can have a good work:life balance and earn enough not to have to rely on foodbanks.  Just because you have money at one time in your life does not guarantee that you always will.

Philippa Bond ● 744d

If parents don’t have peer support they should be thinking very, very carefully before breeding. So many parents take no responsibility and think that the State must jump in and take over all responsibility. It is wrong. If you don’t have time to potty train - don’t have babies. If you can’t afford to feed and clothe your kids, don’t have them.

Steve Taylor ● 745d

Why do so many working people also need to use food banks and to be on benefits?  When parents are working three jobs to try and keep afloat it is stressful and exhausting and potty training children can also be stressful.  When parents are working they also often don't get the peer support that they might otherwise get.

Philippa Bond ● 745d

“ Teachers are now having to deal with children who have not been toilet trained ”Yes I find this absolutely disgraceful that so many parents take NO responsibility for their children and leave it all to school teachers. What astounded me is that during lockdown many children lost the ability to eat with a knife and fork because they didn’t have the guidance of teachers.  Teachers should not have to deal with basic parenting!!

Steve Taylor ● 745d

When we had terry towelling nappies rather than disposable ones we always emptied the faeces from nappies into the loo because we didn't want any more than necessary in the bucket or washing machine.  I've noticed that those using disposables for their babies often don't do this (when possible of course).  They roll up the whole nappy.  Nappies are supposed I think to be double wrapped ie nappy bag of some kind as well as the bin bag but I don't expect many are.  I've also been told that the nappy companies make these so comfortable that parents no longer nappy train their children as early as they used to.  Stressed parents find it easier not to and toddlers are so comfortable they are less likely to be bothered about it.  Teachers are now having to deal with children who have not been toilet trained when they start school.A friend in Brent employs someone to wash out her wheelie every so often.  I completely agree that plastic is awful for absorbing and keeping hold of bad smells -  the old metal dustbins do not do that.

Philippa Bond ● 745d

“ We have looked at scheduling street cleaning the day after collections but it's impractical. For a start collections are weekly (and in some cases more frequent) and cleansing schedules are fortnightly in most places.”It shouldn’t be impractical. Even if the street cleaning is only fortnightly, at least there would be no litter every fortnight instead of every single week!  Why not just give it a try before declaring it impractical? “Recycling teams are tasked to pick up anything they drop but not with cleaning the street of stuff that was there before they came, however especially if it's very windy and people don't use nets there is a perception the teams drop stuff.”It isn’t a ‘perception’. It’s 100% fact. The teams are seen dropping stuff and ignoring it. Sometimes they even kick it under a car or hedge. The problem is that no Council Officer or Councillor is ever out monitoring the recycling teams. If it really was a problem of wind blowing stuff out of boxes, the Council could quite easily enforce the netting of paper and plastics boxes. i.e.  if your boxes aren’t netted they won’t be collected. This isn’t rocket science it’s just basic common sense. And if people decide it’s too much hassle to recycle, we could do as the USA and check wheelie bin contents randomly. Anyone caught binning recyclables is very heavily fined. Again, not rocket science, just simple waste management. Something has to be done to stop Hounslow looking like a cesspool. Other Boroughs get it right. Why is it just Hounslow that is such a dump?

Steve Taylor ● 746d

Our food waste bin has been smashed so often I've given up getting it replaced.Apart from that, even with stuff bagged up inside and sprayed with repellent ( now too costly) Foxy has managed to open these , even with bricks on or wedged between a big bin and a wall.  If it's not ours strewn all over the place it's someone elses.It not generally food waste in wheely bins it's faeces and nappies and bio stuff that has no recycling category that create the smell and rotting detritus of anything sweating in a plastic vessel will stink not necessarily food waste.Some neighbours with babies change to the bigger bin which is easier for them but horrid if its right by your door all year round.  I'm sure the actual parents are immune to the stench.  I think we were with our own!!

Raymond Havelock ● 746d

Using the food waste bin makes s great deal of difference as you don't then have dripping and smelly black bin bags in your wheelie.  The bin stays clean and dry.  It is worse in LBE as I'm told you have to fight to get the smaller wheelie bins like LBH have and the TWO larger https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/changes-and-answers/category/safetyones are impossible to manoeuvre in small spaces.  You always seem to have to take both out each time in order to leave the correct one out

Philippa Bond ● 746d

I agree - around here people don't use the nets - most of them seem to have disappeared, however I thought the idea of these boxes was a barmy one to start with, as is the garden waste collection crew walking around with a list! In Richmond once you pay for the collection service you get a sticky label to put on your bin - the colour changes year to year, so the crew know who's paid.

Vanessa Smith ● 747d

I have to say I am getting rather fed up with finding scuffs and scratches on my vehicle after collection.Shattered plastic by the marks is now more telling as to who is doing this as boxes are beginning to degrade.It's not great that the trucks are too wide for the smaller streets so very little space for the operatives to work.But fed up with finding blown over wheelie bins, stinking filthy ones and littered all over pavements.This still does not really work in small terraced streets which look a mess and the difficulty of washing the things out with no rear access or space to do so.

Raymond Havelock ● 747d

David as you well know you can report problems to me and I will always react. Non collections are actioned the next day (for individual houses) and the non-collection rate is way better than the benchmark. Happy to engage with the local Recycle360 supervisor, caretaking and you to address concerns on the Haverfield.We have looked at scheduling street cleaning the day after collections but it's impractical. For a start collections are weekly (and in some cases more frequent) and cleansing schedules are fortnightly in most places. Recycling teams are tasked to pick up anything they drop but not with cleaning the street of stuff that was there before they came, however especially if it's very windy and people don't use nets there is a perception the teams drop stuff. But it's more that recycling is put out on the day the teams call and gets blown about.Plans are just about to be implemented which have a more comprehensive ward based team with overall responsibility for keeping their ward spruce. I think that will make a difference.

Guy Lambert ● 747d

We've been here before with the street cleaning before collection discussion.  Of course it doesn't necessarily work afterwards either because that can encourage the collectors to be less careful...Everything works best with teamwork and that includes residents.

Philippa Bond ● 747d

The very worse of recycling is the outside bin sheds on council estates. With the chutes now closed off, all recycling is brought down by residents by hand as living in flats they are not allocated recycling bins. The mess after each collection is unbelieve able. Caretakers are suppose to clear up but they offer a once a week schedule for this. The worst area id at the end of Disterlery walk by Pottery Rd opposite Watermans park which is seen by thounsands each day as they pass. To report a non collection is a total waste of time as no one comes back. There is no where on the council's web site to complain except for customer services. You get no number from them. Council must be very pleased at the level of complants as they are not recorded.

David Squire ● 747d

Residents have been saying this for years. Unfortunately we have an Administration at Hounslow that refuses to listen to constituents. Hence the Borough is a great big rubbish tip. It's a disgrace the way the Environment Dept is run - or rather - NOT run. No effective Councillor taking ownership.

Steve Taylor ● 747d

Yep.  Same in my road.  The fortnightly (I think) litter pick is scheduled for a Tuesday and the bin/recycling collections are on Wednesdays.  Which bright spark thought that one up? It’s a waste of money.  Our money.  When we could be getting so much more bangs for our buck if only somebody took an overview and got the two services to coordinate with each other.  It’s not rocket science.

Marie Power ● 747d

Whilst there is little doubt that the Recycling Teams are getting worse and more shoddy, the main problem is lack of management or direction by the inept Council.  Which moron sends the street sweepers out to diligently pick up every piece of paper or plastic, or even cigarette butt,  BEFORE the Recycling Teams arrive to litter the place again with their shoddy work ethic and lazy attitude towards picking up the litter they discard whilst loading the trucks.

Steve Taylor ● 748d

Replacement nets (which fit fine) are available at libraries. Unlike many councils we have continued a complete uninterrupted service throughout the pandemic.The level of missed collections is much better than industry benchmarks and the level of complaints is low and falling.Our separated recycling is almost certain to become the standard approach under the 2021 Environment Act (though the government may decree separation into more streams) because it results in a much more recyclable stream of waste, all of which (bar food and garden waste) has a positive value to the recycling industry - ie we are paid for the waste, so there is no chance of it ending up an a beach or in a river.We are transparent about where it goes  https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/recyclingdestinations Food waste goes to a digestion plant in Mitcham and is turned into gas for the grid and fertiliser. Garden waste goes to a large farm in Sussex where it is composted for fertiliser.Our overall recycling rate has gone up from 29.8% to 37.8% over the last 4 years and the cost of the service to taxpayers is £34.91 per annum per resident, the second lowest of 11 comparable London Boroughs (EG Brent, Enfield, Hillingdon)Of course the service isn't perfect but there's a serious commitment to continuously improve. We pay a minimum of the London Living Wage to all staff but it has been very hard to recruit in recent months so at times we have had a lot of new recruits and temporary workers.Crews are expected to pick up anything they drop, but they cannot pick up stuff that the wind has strewn around  because of a lack of nets or whatever.Let me know if you see problems. I will always follow up guy.lambert@hounslow.gov.uk

Guy Lambert ● 771d

Here is what I mean about Reducing:https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/government-plans-to-halve-residual-waste-by-2042/It is dreadful that after all these years we still seem to be stuck at the wrong end of the waste hierarchy.  The less waste you make the less you need to dispose of.

Philippa Bond ● 771d

There were more nets available at one time.  Have you tried to order any?

Philippa Bond ● 771d

No - the Ealing wheelie bins are absolutely ridiculous and have done nothing to reduce the amount of waste that people make:  REDUCE Reuse Recycle being the basic waste hierarchy.Far too big as they were a one-size fits all special deal - when one size does not fit all.  When houses divided into flats wanted to share so that they didn't have to have multiple wheelies they increased the size of the wheelies to everybody's horror - or just filled front gardens.  You can't call them gardens any more they are wheelie bin parks and they can be quite threatening at night and so often now there is no greenery now at all instead paving which is bad for the environment and increases the chances of flash flooding.Small homes in streets have been vandalised by these huge ugly things, estate agents move them out of the way to take photos, they are difficult to manoeuvre and are left out on the street blocking passage and paths and they blow over in the wind spreading the recycling everywhere as well.  Recycling now can't be monitored in the way that it can be in green boxes. I believe that a lot more now sadly just goes to EfW creating unwanted CO2.We never had scavenging foxes because we used the food waste bins - which are also important to use as it shows you how much you make and you can tweak your shopping, storing and cooking habits to reduce the amount and also save money.  Any that you do make is used to make electricity.  Why aren't you using yours?

Philippa Bond ● 771d

Can't beat wheelie bins, like we have in Ealing.  The collection mess and the scavenging foxes stopped overnight.

Peter Evans ● 771d

Those nets disintegrated years ago.  They shrink in the weather and would not fit anyway.But the amount of cars that get hit by flailing boxes ought to be investigated and most residents will no doubt be completely unaware that should they find their vehicle damaged, Hounslow will accept no liability and only co-operate with assisting on claiming off your own insurance.Flying wheelie bins are similar. And getting hit by one in the wind renders the householder of that bin liable.

Raymond Havelock ● 771d

The mess is always after the collection has taken place. A walk through Mafeking Ave, Brook Road and Clifden Road shortly aftera collection and the litter is evidently worse than usual. Such a shame to see our streets like this.

Jai Williams ● 771d

I don't think there will be a tender as surely the collection service is now in-house?I don't find the streets too bad after a collection and what is left/dropped seems more to be in the plastics department.

Anne England ● 771d

Is everybody using the nets over their containers and stacking them to avoid the contents being blown about?

Philippa Bond ● 772d