Back in December the all Tory Cabinet currently running things at Walsall Council took the decision to end weekly grey bin collections.

The move to alternate weekly collections came at the end of months of public consultation. This move is guaranteed to get people motivated to voice their opinions and why shouldn’t it? Emptying our bins is the one council service that we all use. Get it wrong at your peril.

Alternate weekly collections of what is called “residual waste” (what is left after all the recycling has gone into your green bin) the stuff that ends up in the grey bin begins in October. The 3rd October to be precise.

To try to ensure that the Cabinet has looked at and addressed all concerns which came out in the consultation process and to make sure that the move from the current weekly collection to the new fortnightly one goes as smoothly as possible, the Corporate and Public Services Scrutiny Panel quizzed the Portfolio holder responsible for the refuse collection service along with the management team who run the service at a meeting of the Panel earlier this week.

Top of most people’s concerns was will the bins be big enough? When quizzed by the Panel officers said that trials had shown that households of one or two would be able to manage with the existing 140 Litre bin. A family of 3 would be able to apply for a 240 Litre bin. Families of 4 or more where the larger 240 Litre bin is already in use will be offered greater recycling capacity and in exceptional circumstances a 360 Litre bin may be issued. A leaflet is being produced explaining all of this and will be delivered to each household closer to the start of the new scheme beginning in August.

Further questioning revealed that the key to the success or otherwise of the scheme lieas with ensuring that as much recycling as possible is done and that bulky items are crushed or broken down in order to take up less space. Again, more details around what can and what can’t be recycled will be released in the for of leaflets beginning in August.

What about Bulky Bin Collections from Apartments and Flats?  

Lib Dem Cllr Ian Shires (Willenhall North) raised the question of bulky bin collections from apartments and flats, “In recent months I have had many calls from residents on this issue” said Ian. “It began soon after recycling bulky bins were introduced in some areas and came to a head over Christmas when crews couldn’t cope with the shear volume as bin stores became full to overflowing.”

To illustrate the point the a resident from Squires Grove, one of the affected areas questioned the officers and the Portfolio holder about their interpretation of the policy as it applies to bulky bins. Assurances have been given to increase the number of bulky bins in the short term whilst work is done to ensure that the companies managing the apartments and flats both in the private sector and Walsall Housing Group, play their full part in ensuring that recycling is done correctly to avoid any problems in the future.

Members of the Scrutiny Panel were told that bulky bins would remain on a weekly collection cycle so the issue here was one of ensuring that recycling was being managed correctly and that bin stores were secured to prevent them being used by anyone other than those they were designed to cater for.

Cllr Shires called for a Working Group to be set up to review the policy to remove any ambiguities that exist. “It was important with all the changes going on that the policy does exactly what it says on the tin” said Ian.

The Panel agreed to a report on the policy issues going to their April meeting with a view to a Working Group being set up after then to review the policy.