to be a bit pissed off that after all the cuts, £250,000,000 has been 'found' for weekly bin collections?

[Annpan88]

Correct me if I'm wrong but after all these cuts to services and people losing their jobs, I believe the government has decided to make changes to the minor Inconvenience that is fornightly bin collections?

Yes, it is a bit of a pain in the arse but I don't see how its the most important thing in thw world and I'm guessing people are pretty use to it.

I just wonder if people are feeling like me, AIBU?

But juggling, if you forget, the depressing calamity is your consequence. Therefore it is in your best interest NOT to forget. Changing the system means I am paying for your forgetfulness, so you have no incentive to do your bit.

I am all for giving the frail and vulnerable support, but unfortunately there is no money to support them. So how come when these groups are suffering from cutbacks money can somehow be found to waste on weekly bin collections?

The majority of people getting their waste collected are NOT vulnerable, so please, cut services I and other non vulnerable people do NOT need and put the money where it is actually needed.

Complete waste of money and a huge step backwards.

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18292

Here we have recycling collection every week (green box, blue bag for newspapers, and they introduced those horrid food caddy things, with intention you put food waste in it and later transfer to the 'Garden waste' wheelie bin.

We have wheelie bin collections 3 hours later (different vehicle), one week it will be general rubbish, alternating with garden waste. They are driving round every other week on the same route, whether there are any 'garden waste' wheelie bins out or not.

By the time it gets to December, it must be a heck of a waste of fuel - I wonder if they could make the 'garden waste' collection once a month or even once a quarter outside the spring/summer months - would save a lot of fuel, but I don't know what it would do to staff rotas. This year they scrapped days off for bank holidays (except for Christmas / Boxing and New Year) so for other Bank Holidays, collections have not been pushed to include the nearest Saturday in lieu of the BH.

Big fairness problem is that some large councils had not switched to fortnightly collections but under this current scheme, don't get a penny of the money being set aside.

As for the money, I'd prefer them to scrap Trident and keep staff in Army, Navy, RAF, and use some of the remaining savings for social welfare needs. While 'defence' is important, nuclear missiles that should 'never be used' yet cost a fortune to make, and weapons systems that again cost a fortune, giving major profits to a relatively small number of big chiefs in the military hardware sector, seems an expense worth cutting...

While I agree that a petition is in order, I'm sure better wording could be used instead of "In the current economic climate, the money could be better spent elsewhere". Like suggesting it be used to fund respite for carers or equipment to enable disabled school children or any other of the huge list of cutbacks that have been made to funding for the most vulnerable in our society.

My point is that some people will occasionally miss the collection for a variety of reasons, such as they may be away, they may be ill, etc. It will probably be a higher percentage of vulnerable people who for whatever reason are struggling slightly - or significantly - with life that this will happen to.
I think a general waste collection once a week is a reasonable service to hope for - I can't believe it costs an impossible amount to spend 2 minutes emptying my bin once a week. I think the cost is probably worth it for the sense of support and well-being it promotes.
It's really not just about my bin - I just know from experience that people will be really fed up if they miss their collection and their rubbish is hanging around for a whole month - just think of all those stinky nappies etc !
I don't accept that I would have no incentive to do my bit, or that you would be paying for my forgetfulness. We would be paying to have our rubbish collected once a week, and for it not to be a calamity if we or others occasionally missed the collection.

And I'm sorry, juggling, but taking money that could be used for the truly vulnerable just so that you aren't inconvenienced when you forget to put your bins out is one of the most selfish sentiments I've read in a long time.

If you truly are thinking of the vulnerable who might have issues getting their bins out, why not suggest that plans are put in place to support them, instead of loads of extra money being wasted on collecting everyone's rubbish weekly on the off-chance that they might be vulnerable.

Because you seem to be missing the point that most of us don't want or need to have our rubbish collected every week.

Hmm, well I'm sorry some folks don't seem to appreciate the point I'm making. As I said it really isn't all about me.
I guess if it really does cost that much there probably are other things the money could be spent on to support the vulnerable - such as breaks for carers etc. as someone mentioned a little up-thread.
I'm and a bit though that anyone would say my post was "one of the most selfish sentiments I've read for a long time"
To me it's like when I was fined for having the wrong ticket on a train recently, even though I'd done my best to buy the right ticket and asked for advice at the station about when was the next train. I could just see the same, unfair in my eyes, thing happening to even more vulnerable people, and them being even more upset about it. I was slightly vulnerable in that situation as I'm not a regular train user so unfamiliar with the system - in "my day" you could catch any train.
Really annoying when people see that sort of flagging up something is wrong here as purely selfish.

tbh we moaned a lot when our collection became fortnightly, but we got used to it and it made us more thorough in our sorting.

my mil struggles with hers though, and as she is 300 miles away from us relies on kind neighbours.

Riveninabingle, that's a great idea, especially for vulnerable people who live alone and have mostly empty bins...you can then shove a load of your own stuff in.

Its about priorities and who decides what they are. Why does a government who says that local priorities are best decided locally then allocate a massive amount of money to bin collections ? Give the money to local authorities and let them decide what is most needed in their local area. And I'll bet that even in the Conservative areas, it won't be weekly bin collections. This government is so out of touch, the Mail is its only touchstone.

our fortnightly bin collection is awful in comparison to other areas that I know and envy but it's the usual that suddenly a government can find money just like that and spend it on an area that will hopefully make them look good to voters.

I really hope the weekly collections come back here, just seen yet another fucking stinking rat over the road when I went to put some rubbish out just now

Prettybird; The point I was making is that a thread on mumsnet can not be judged in anyway as 'the mood of the country' - by saying 'if this thread is anything to go by' means nothing - this thread has young(ish) lefty/green women posting on it, the views are politically biased and or so very smug. The mood of the country is hearing the views of pensioners, Tories, Daily Mail readers, men, Sun readers, people who shop in ASDA, because they pay council tax too, and maybe they want something for their money and don't want to spend half their week bloody recycling.

Weekly collections is a basic right.

We've had rats here too - one of them was trying to burrow a hole into our living room
Fortunately they didn't stay around long. But still.

jugglingwiththreeshoes

Our council has an assisted bin collection. People who would struggle to put their bins out don't have to, the bin men collect them from their garden/usual storage place. The system then copes perfectly adequately with fortnightly collections without impacting on any vulnerable people. It doesn't make allowances for the simply forgetful amongst us, of which I am one but then I'm not sure why it should. It's amazing just how much you can get in a wheely bin if you get inside it and squash it down a bit

Never ever had rats,really don't get that argument.

We have 1 big black bin with a lid,1 big green composting bin with a lid and the rest of the recycling goes out in boxes.

We keep said boxes on top of the bins so they're totally closed,never had a smell or seen a rat(or any other vermin). The bins are basically sealed so there would be no attraction for vermin,(anybody can put a brick on top). Some people pay for their bins to be cleaned but we don't.

We are a family of 5 and have always had fortnightly collection. Everybody embraces it because it's better for the environment(less petrol,landfill etc)and unless you're bin obsessed there is no problem what so ever.A lot of hysteria over buggar all to be frank.

We have immaculate streets,no smells,rats or anything. As I said before we have a fab council re bins and they're supposed to be one of the best in the country. Have been known quite rightly to put notes on bins if recycling not done properly. Would be a travesty to see things go backwards.

We empty the food caddy into the sealed green large bin,has never stank even in hot weather.I have 3 young children,have never not managed to fit our rubbish into a fortnightly collection,shocked at some of the waste from families on here to be frank.

"it's better for the environment (less petrol" - since you have fortnightly collections for the black bin, is it alternating with the green composting bin ? If it is, do you think there is a need for the composting bin to be fortnightly all through the wet, dark, autumn/winter months?

If they do run those trucks all year, then I am not convinced of much fuel saving, to be honest.

MrsH's composting bin is for food waste, not just garden waste, NetworkGuy. (Most people have food waste in the winter as well as the summer )

Just loving being included amongst "young-ish" women. :):)

For the record, I am 50, detest Labour and although I would never vote either Conservative or LibDem (or Green), am prepared to give the coalition a chance, think that jury is still out on anthropogenic global warming (although that's a whole other debate) - but do believe that as a (Western) society we have become incredibly wasteful and selfish and that we should husband all of our resources better - it's just common sense. And that includes recycling where possible.

Our garden waste bin collection stops at the end of November and starts again in March (with a special collection in January for Christmas trees). It's actually a pain, as if you hadn't finished tidying your garden by the time they stopped because it was always chucking it down at weekends , you're stuffed.

But I am fortunate enough to have a large garden. :)