Bin service is ‘rubbish’
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HIGHLAND Council’s new bin collection system was labelled as "rubbish" by members of Golspie Community Council at their meeting this week.
Waste management officer Andy Hume was invited to the meeting to explain how the new scheme for Sutherland would operate, but it was obvious, by the strength of feeling in the community lounge on Monday night, that residents are happy with the service currently offered by GREAN and are genuinely bewildered as to why it should be replaced.
Mr Hume said that the new service, starting on July 2, will involve householders receiving a weekly, alternate bin collection — the current green wheelie bin for waste would be collected one week, with the new blue wheelie bin for recycled material being collected the following week.
This system had been rolled out in various wards in the Highland Council area over the past 18 months and had been working well, he said.
The reason behind it was to meet government recycling targets of 60 per cent (of household waste) by 2020. But community councillor Martyne Cockerill interrupted: "The fact is that GREAN provide an excellent service at present which I suspect already exceeds that 60 per cent target."
Questioned about the materials which would be collected, Mr Hume said that cans, plastic bottles, newspaper and cardboard would be uplifted via the blue wheelie bin, and householders would be urged to separate items out.
But grilled further by members, he admitted that all such waste (from east Sutherland) would "end up" at Ardachu (Brora) recycling point where it would be held before being taken to Evanton for sorting by a private company.
Mr Hume was also told that residents had been informed that unless they separated items, their bins would not be emptied.
Said an audience member: "What is the point when the whole lot is then put together and dumped at Brora?"
Chairman Iain Miller said: "This whole business is really a nonsense. People won’t separate out as they do at present."
Members were further annoyed when told that, unlike the GREAN service, glass will not be uplifted, nor Tetrapaks (such as milk and fruit juice cartons, because parts are non-recyclable).
The public will have to revert to taking their glass bottles to bottle banks while the Tetrapaks would need to be put into the green wheelie bins.
Said Mrs Cockerill: "It just won’t happen. Folk will be putting bottles in the bin and that makes the whole thing pointless."
Secretary Anne Ford agreed: "The fact is, everyone in East Sutherland knows what a fantastic job GREAN do. They make it as easy as possible for as many of us as possible. The Highland Council service is just not going to be as good."
Newly re-elected Highland Councillor Deirdre Mackay stepped in: "I think actually we all have a responsibility for recyclable waste such as glass bottles. I used to take mine to the bottle bank before GREAN came along and I will just have to do the same again."
But audience members argued that many people, such as elderly residents without a car, could not take their glass to a bottle bank.
However, GREAN manager Fiona Macdonald, who attended the meeting, said: "At the moment there is a bottle bank next to our depot which we clean and tidy every night. I have to say that I think we would be loath to spend time doing that from now on!"
Community councillor Mary Nicol said that the weekly collection by GREAN was in "clean" vehicles, whereas the Highland Council lorries "will just have everything thrown in them."
She asked if there was any option to keep GREAN?
Mr Hume admitted it was down to budget. GREAN had been receiving a subsidy of around £275,000 per year which could not be sustained. He insisted that they
were being given "breathing space" to diversify.
Fiona Macdonald accepted that GREAN could not continue to give their current level of service with the reduced funding they were being offered and, through mutual agreement with Highland Council, would move into other areas of sustainability such as clothing and bicycle recycling and organic vegetables.
She believed that the current level of employment could be sustained.
From the floor, Allan Barclay said: "Well I hope so, because we desperately need that employment particularly for people of differing abilities.
"I just wonder why on earth we are sending sorting material to Easter Ross when it could be done here?
"It seems to me that whenever there is a good idea here, it gets gobbled up by Inverness!
"I really cannot see the jobs being retained here but I hope I can come back in a year’s time and admit I was wrong."
Said Iain Miller: "The trouble is, GREAN are too successful."
From the audience, Les Christie agreed: "Because GREAN was so good, I was putting less and less into my green wheelie bin and I only needed once a fortnight collection. But I can see that that will probably now change."
The chairman asked about commercial collection and Mr Hume said the council could do that but other agencies, including GREAN, could as well.
Mary Nicol said she did not know that commercial premises could still have their waste uplifted by GREAN.
She was told there would be a charge for this by whichever agency collected.
