Changes to Domestic Waste Collections - One Size Fits All Will Not Work in Broughty Ferry

At the Environment Committee on Monday night the Committee agreed, after a vote, to go ahead with a scheme to enhance recycling of domestic waste. While my Labour colleagues and I support the need to dramatically improve the proportion of recycling, we thought there was a crucial step that had been missed out. We believe that a consultation with the public, which the Council had agreed to undertake over a year ago, should have happened first. Using their majority, SNP Councillors voted through their scheme.

In the discussion at the Council and at a prior briefing for Councillors we did impress on the Director of Environment, Ken Laing and the Convener of Environment, Craig Melville (SNP) the importance of recognising that a 'one size fits all' approach will not work. While many homes in Broughty Ferry can cope with multiple bins into which to separate their rubbish, this is not realistic for folk who live in properties with limited or no off street storage space. This is clear in the picture I took last week in Abercromby Street where there are only general waste bins supplied in the bin stores for the blocks of low rise walk up flats.

The Director and Convener agreed that they would need to engage with the public and they would introduce a variety of measures according to household and neighbourhood circumstances. If they don't commit to consultation with residents now, I think there will be many folk who will be more than disappointed when the weekly general (grey bin) waste collection becomes fortnightly. 

I encourage all community groups in The Ferry to contact the Environment Department to ask for a meeting about how recycling can be improved in their streets before the weekly general waste collections are phased out.