Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Three identical bulky info packs tell me how to cut waste...!

My district councillor has sent me a third bulky info pack about wheelie bins - but that's no consolation for not taking my rubbish away this week.

Last month, when twin info packs turned up telling me I'd received two new wheelie bins, I contacted the council at Grantham to let them know I hadn't.

But now, good news: weeks later, after the third wheelie-bin info pack was stuffed through my front door, I went outside to find a pair of smart new twin-wheelie-bins abandoned on the main road nearby, one silver, one black.

I carefully wheeled them, one at a time into my back garden, and looked for the first two info packs to start filling them up...

But then I remembered the following the instructions in the earlier packs - which warned me not to actually use them until I get another letter from the Portfolio Holder responsible, Ray Auger, who happens to live round the corner from me.

Well, inside the third info pack is another letter from Ray, but I've checked it carefully and guess what: I still mustn't use the new wheelie-bins until I've received yet another letter from Ray.

I'm really chuffed that Ray and his colleagues at SKDC have apparently at last woken up to recycling: I recall being at a council meeting some years ago when Ray said recycling was totally impractical in an area like South Kesteven.

Well, I suppose it depends on how big the threatened Government fines are for not recycling!

But back to Church Street, DSJ...3 info packs, 2 wheelie bins outside my door...but still no wheelie bins for my neighbours on either side.

I can only assume that Ray and his team will return yet again sometime soon with another delivery...hopefully when they collect last week's rubbish which is starting to pong in the green plastic bags...

I'm tempted dump it in the new bins: despite Ray's third dire warning not to!

The third info pack includes another ten (that's 30 so far then) separate printed items as follows:

1. a third eight-page colour-coded brochure titled Using your Black Bin.

2. a third eight-page colour-coded brochure titled Using your Silver Bin.

3. a third (ie, the ninth) eight-page (that's 72 pages so far) leaflet titled Slim your Bin, A practical guide to reducing your rubbish (same colours, but not to be confused with the second leaflet Using Your Silver Bin (see above).

4. A third A4 sticker for me to attach to my silver bin listing items to place inside it.

5. A third A4 sticker for me to attach to my black bin, with a more detailed also list of items that are also to be placed in the silver bin, not the black bin.

6. A third gimmicky wheel thingy which tells me where recycling sites are in Ancaster, Allington and Asda's Grantham and a host of other places that seem rather a long way from the Deepings. (Maybe now I'm getting cynical...but there's more)

7. A third A5 card with details of a competition if I reply before August using the prepaid presumably by me Freepost Plus address.

8. A third sticky-backed A5 calendar titled Your collection dates that doesn't do what it says on the "tin": It doesn't actually tell me when my bins will be emptied!

9. A third covering letter from Councillor Ray Auger, Executive Member for Waste Services telling me how the new wheelie bins will cut rubbish along with a third warning me not to use the new wheelie bins until he writes me another letter...

I'll gladly recycle all three info packs I've so far received into my smart new wheelie bins (once I've worked out which one they're supposed to go in.

Can anyone beat three?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have my sympathy.

Living near Ray Auger must be quite a trial.

He said he was against recycling.

Then he introduced it.

Then he warned of fines for wheelie bin offences.

Then he said there was no intention to punish people.

Now he's back in punishment mode.

Nothing he says stands for as long as a fornight.

Except for full wheelie bins in hot weather, of course.

fairdealphil said...

brynley:

what angers me about all this fancy "recycling" is that we had a very popular, free-cost, recycle anything service in the Deepings which was closed down by red tape.

if Ray and his mates keep spending our money, we might soon have as good a service as we once had for nowt!

witness the total waste of public money they forked out on an all-singling glass collection a couple of years ago - within a few months they'd scrapped the idea as it was costing them 80 quid a ton to get rid of the glass, as well as the inflated costs of collection.

Anonymous said...

Phil,

I received the letter (not actually from Ray) unleashing my wheelie bins this week. I know you're on the same round as I, so, letter or not, put your black bin out next week instead of your bag (probably with the bag(s) inside it!). The grey bin (I shall not lie about its colour) goes out the following Thursday - full details in one of those leaflets: you can put the rest in the grey bin - except the sticky-backed plastic ones which either go into the black bin or are kept for the next Blue Peter scam ... er, I mean project.

fairdealphil said...

Thanks Mark.

Yes, I've now received the instructions for use...

I actually welcome the wheelie bins, specially if they substantially increase recycling, as predicted, but felt it was a case of good idea clogged up with red tape...