Forum Topic

Early Recycling/Rubbish Collections w/b Sun 20 Dec 09

Hurray we have had info put through our letterbox telling us about the Christmas recycling and waste arrangements AND an updated leaflet on what we can recycle in our kerbside collections.If you haven't you'll find it on the www.ealing.gov.uk website where you can check out the collections which have changed and are a day or two earlier than usual.

Philippa Bond ● 6133d20 Comments

The Monday collection will be tomorrow (Saturday) and that will take a few people by surprise!

Philippa Bond ● 6128d

The Tuesday collection will be tomorrow (Monday).

Philippa Bond ● 6127d

I think we have all got the message about the rubbish collections, you don't have to keep reminding us.

J Smith ● 6126d

Don't be discouraged Philippa. There seems to be little awareness of the changes so every little helps. Good to see people at the Council prepared to do their bit at the weekends.

Andy Jones ● 6126d

It's not exactly rocket science. The collection days are bound to be changed because there is a national holiday. Anyone with access to a PC can look up the times on the council website.

J Smith ● 6126d

What would be clever would be for street wardens to patrol on what would have been the normal collection day and to fine those who have placed rubbish on the footpaths...... but it will probably be another missed opportunity.Merry Christmas!

Alan Brainsby ● 6126d

Alan,when they start that one off, the forum members will know who to blame so i would keep any bright ideas like that to yourself in future!! happy christmas though!!

Peter Chadburn ● 6126d

Thanks Peter!I would hope that the forum members are, or have been, sufficiently well-informed to take the necessary precautions so as not to be caught out.I wonder if the council has beaten me to this excellent form of fund-raising? It would make a change from penalizing motorists of which we hear so much.

Alan Brainsby ● 6126d

'F', you'll have to accept that not everyone in Ealing shares your fierce intelligence. The less able among us will assume that collections on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would be made as normal. Philippa's reminders are timely and useful in that regard. I don't know when Ealing (town as opposed to borough's) collection dates are but judging from other local forums the awareness of dates being brought forward is very low. This is likely to lead to parts of the borough having piles of stinking uncollected refuse over the Christmas holiday.

Andy Jones ● 6126d

I don't have a "fierce intelligence" just common sense - it's Christmas Day Friday, therefore no rubbish collection. By using the little grey cells, rubbish collections will be brought forward a day.With regards the reminders by Philippa - yes they are useful, but three times?

J Smith ● 6126d

As far as I can recall the bringing forward of collections is a relatively new development. Previously collections would be postponed. I don't think anyone could work out by common sense alone that their bins were unlikely to be collected this morning or other mornings in the run up to Christmas.Philippa keeps posting on this thread to bump it to the top. You could argue that it is unethical to do this as a way of getting around paying this site to advertise the changes but I'm just pleased to see someone from the Council for whom it really matters that we don't have a developing public health problem over the holidays.

Andy Jones ● 6126d

Merry Christmas Philippa.Obviously the bad communication from the council requires the re-introduction of the office of town crier replete with cloak, hat, and bell. Preferably loud of voice and able to speak upwards of 20 languages.

Alan Brainsby ● 6126d

I am sorry guys but this "bad communication from the council" line is simply not on.  I had a leaflet through my door.  It was covered in Around Ealing - prominently on the back page.  There was a full page advert in the Gazette.  It is on the front page of the council's website.  I hope that people will agree that the council has done its bit.  Philippa'a public spirited support is much appreciated.  Thanks.  I know that some people don't like early collections but the alternative is to have disruption over three weeks rather than two.

Phil Taylor ● 6126d

Philippa, apologies. You often repost Council press releases here and I thought in the past you said you worked for or were associated with Council publicity. Disappointed to learn that nobody from the Council is using this forum to spread the word but pleased to know a disinterested member of the general public is doing so.Cllr. Taylor defends the Council's record on this in terms of what they have done. The justification of policy should not be how much money has been spent but how effective it has been. The problems that are becoming apparent across the borough suggest strongly that it has been a failure.

Andy Jones ● 6126d

Andy,This is not my area so I was only trying to convey my own personal experience of actual communications I have seen with my own eyes.  I am sure there will be some problems and I hope and expect that plans will have been made to deal with them.  Again my own experience of calling 020 8825 6000 to get problems solved has been good.  None of the 16 posts above have reported any actual problems - just speculation that they might occur.  It is impossible to magic extra trucks at this time of year so all we can do is juggle the collections.  Any ideas people have of how we can communicate changed schedules better will be appreciated I am sure. 

Phil Taylor ● 6126d

I'm still waiting for a replacement white plastic recyling bag - almost 3 weeks after requesting a replacement for the one that wasn't returned. This isn't the first time I've had problems and I don't see why I should have to spend time and money chasing up the relevant department, so as the dustbin men refuse to take plastics in carrier bags while I'm waiting, I've given up on plastic recycling for the time being.

M. Anderson ● 6126d

Regarding speculation of possible failure (or success!) is not unreasonable.The wise can elicit information and the equally wise can read it and become even wiser and the less wise, well, wiser. Although the advertisement, in this case, of refuse collection times, has been exemplary, the proof would lie in a survey of properties which failed to adjust to the revised collection day.This could be for several reasons, paper copies were not received by householders - distribution problems, paper copies were received but not acted upon - this could be due to blindness, illiteracy, inability to understand English (not the same as illiteracy), morbid fear of any official document, etc. This where the survey could identify  those residents requiring disability help, educational help, psychiatric help, and perhaps legal assistance.As most of the Council's hardcopy communications are in English only it is making a huge presumption that all the inhabitants understand English.

Alan Brainsby ● 6125d

By my own totally non-scientific survey on my way to work this morning on a collection day bought forward from Wednesday to Tuesday I would estimate only half the households had put their rubbish out.  Perhaps all on holiday?Surely a default of being a day late than a day early at least means that any bags on the street for one day at most. It will be interesting to see what is out tomoorow morning?

Philip Coe ● 6125d

Cllr. Taylor, the complaints about publicity and collection when I wrote were on the other local web sites i.e. Acton and Chiswick although there appears now to be a developing problem in Northfields. Chiswick seems to be having the worst problems as their collection was moved from Monday to the previous Saturday. I fear for my area as our collection is normally Thursday and is rescheduled for Wednesday. The experience of other areas is that 50-75% of bags will be put out on the wrong day.You are clearly spending a lot on publicity and it is not working. This appears to have been acknowledged as there seem to be collections taking place on the normal days to take into account most people were unaware of the changes. A different strategy seems to be in order. Two would come to mind - firstly don't spend anything at all on publicity and put the saved cash into extra collections; secondly spend the money more effectively although apart from the blindingly obvious measure of putting the information on these web sites and others like WEN I can't suggest anything else that might work.

Andy Jones ● 6125d

I reckon there are two houses in my street who have put out their rubbish on the wrong day (ie the usual one).  One of these has put three black bin bags on the pavement under the telegraph pole. So whoever this is needs more than just a timetable.What we haven't established is whether in the Chiswick area where apparently so much wasn't put out on the right day they DID get leaflets but since one resident says that anything that comes through the letterbox that doesn't have a stamp on it immediately goes in the recycling bin what hope is there?The majority of people should easily manage to go until the next collection without a problem.  There are plenty of bring banks to relieve the pressure.  Or just squash your cans and plastic bottles to make more room.

Philippa Bond ● 6125d