100 signatures reached
To: The leader of Camden Council, Councillor Sarah Hayward, CEO Mike Cooke, Councillor Merik Apak, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Environment and all councillors of Camden Council
What a load of rubbish - Call for Camden Council to change its decision
Petition to Camden Council
We, the undersigned residents, want you, as our representatives to reconsider the decisions above and to change them as shown:
(a) Revert to weekly collections; and
(b) Remove the requirement to limit the amount of rubbish collected – some people can’t help generating rubbish and they do expect their Council to take it away.
Penalising half of the borough to pay for the other half is not the answer to the recycling dilemma.
Recycling is necessary in today’s world and should be encouraged. But the new policy pits neighbour against neighbour, does nothing to encourage recycling and leaves families with young kids and smelly nappies or carers with elderly residents who may also be in nappies having to store such detritus for 2 weeks. This is unfair and divisive. By all means encourage recycling, but this scheme will not improve recycling rates. There is also the danger of increased fly tipping which will encourage foxes, vermin and aggressive seagulls – yes, there are seagulls in Hampstead.
We expect a lot from our Council and look forward to you delivering such high expectations to us.
Why is this important?
From the residents who are signatories to the petition who live in the following wards and who are affected by the rubbish decision of Camden Council which starts in April 2017:
Frognal and Fitzjohns, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Belsize, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town, Highgate and Kilburn
Background
Camden Council under the guidance of Cllr Merik Apak has decided, in its wisdom, to remove weekly bin collections for most of residents of the wards listed above. Not all roads in those wards are affected but most are.
See the Ham and High’s article confirming those affected wards.
If you are not sure if you are affected, you can check your postcode at the link below to see whether you have weekly or bi-weekly collections:
Post code checker
http://www.veolia.co.uk/london/services/services/north-london/camden/service-change-checker
This decision raises a peculiar situation where residents in the same ward with roads which adjoin each other have different rubbish collection dates.
The rationale for the decision has been to boost recycling. Camden states that it will still collect recycling and food waste every week. In a letter in the Camden New Journal, Cllr Apak states “for those homes that have been independently assessed to have enough space to store rubbish for two weeks, we will collect their non-recyclable rubbish fortnightly, from April 1 onwards”.
Space outside homes have, therefore, been allocated as storage sites for Camden’s waste. If you have the space to store such rubbish, you are chosen. See para 1.4 at the link below:
This decision has nothing to do with the suggestion that residents who do not currently recycle are encouraged to do so. If you live in one of the lucky wards still to receive weekly collections, there is no incentive to recycle – you will still have weekly collections.
If you live in one of the unlucky wards, and already recycle - there is no pat on the back – it matters not because you have been selected anyway for 2 weekly collections.
Unless you opt out, Camden will now distribute a 240 litre capacity black wheelie bin which you must keep within the boundary of your property. If you already have a large Camden green recycling bin, you now need to add a black one of the same size to your garden. You can opt out of receiving the wheelie bin by 18 Feb.
And, the sting in the tail is that if your household rubbish exceeds the size of the new wheelie bin or, if you don’t want one, the 4 Camden orange bags they will give you to put your rubbish in for collection, they won’t take it.
Once your orange bags are emptied, you have to put any extra rubbish in them and store for another two weeks or take independently to Camden’s local recycling sites – see para 2.3 of the link above. So Camden is not just moving to 2 weekly collections, they are limiting the amount of rubbish they will take away.
So, if you recycle but are a large generator of rubbish – too bad – you have to store it for longer or take it to the dump yourself. What are we paying our Council taxes for??
As part of the same plan, garden waste will now be collected every Saturday as a paid-for, opt-in service. Residents who subscribe to the service will pay £60 for 9 months or £75 for a year – but there is also the option of heading to centres at Hornsey Street or Regis Road to drop off garden waste for free.
