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Recycling chaos in Bellevue

Dear All 

[E-mail to: Cllr Lesley Hinds, waste@edinburgh.gov.uk, Cllr Angela Blacklock, Cllr Nick Gardner, Cllr Marion Donaldson, Cllr Lewis Ritchie; cc. Broughton Spurtle, New Town Clean Streets Campaign.

The Bellevue recycling trial is in chaos. 

Please can you advise when the last recycling collection was undertaken as all mixed recycling bins are full and overflowing and have been regularly for some time. It must have been at least a week since last collection.

Yes, people are recycling but now we can't as the bins are full.  Do you suggest we put it all in the landfill bin?

This needs sorted as the trial is obviously not working. I think you need to up the collection rate as the glass bins are also becoming very full very quickly which means that we can't recycle once full.

Bellevue Road by postbox (near high school) is exceptionally bad. This needs some attention as things are going to get worse during the Christmas holiday disruptions. 

I look forward to seeing our streets cleaner and bins emptied very soon.

Regards

James H. Blake

UPDATE
In an e-mail this morning, Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport and Environment Convener, replied to Mr Blake saying: 'I have reported this area for action today. I have also asked why the collections are not happening on a regular basis'.
This, of course, is a welcome response. But it's also a retrospective fix from on-high to chronic and systemic waste-collection problems which don't appear to be getting any better. 
Spurtle – alongside other local groups and individuals – will continue to monitor the situation, ask for explanations, and press for improvements. In the meantime, please keep us posted on any developments you notice in your part of Broughton in general and the Bellevue recycling trial area in particular.
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Below is a selection of tweets on the same subject concerning local streets over the last few days. If you have something to add, please let us know at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk or @theSpurtle or Facebook

Pile of rubbish on Bellevue Rd now attracting new rubbish @CityCentreLeith, @NTCleanStreets

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@NTCleanStreets @theSpurtle @Edinburgh_CC I've asked my councillors to send me the evaluation report from the local pilot..

NewTownCleanStreets NewTownCleanStreets ‏@NTCleanStreets 

@hackonteur @north_team @Edinburgh_CC @edinhelp Yet again, cannot report this on line as bin not on map @theSpurtle

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Are you aware of some recycling bins vanishing from Bellevue/Claremont trial area?Residents in dark as no prior warning. @NTCleanStreets

@theSpurtle Yes, tell me about it. No7 on this map, but in reality nearer junction w/Claremont Cres. Have raised w/>

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@theSpurtle >w/CEC + @LAHinds, as have numerous residents. I've been a bit lax about following up but will do so now.

@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets I phoned the Council about it yesterday & they said they knew nothing about it. Also bins remaining unemptied.

Marquis Melrose Marquis Melrose ‏@MasterMelrose  

@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets The ones on Melgund Terrace. Couldn't report Bellevue Rd unemptied ones online because there were no blue dots

Neil Jones Neil Jones ‏@N_G_Jones 

@NTCleanStreets @Edinburgh_CC @theSpurtle @LAHinds No one going to bother to collect the household recycling in E Claremont St this week?

@N_G_Jones @theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets @Edinburgh_CC @LAHinds I'd really like to know if there's a rota for this at all.Seems totally random

@NTCleanStreets @Kityara_chloe @theSpurtle just double checked. Two mixed recycling ones removed from Meglund leaving one bottle bank -

@NTCleanStreets @Kityara_chloe @theSpurtle - the only one in Bellevue area to my knowledge. Mixed recycling unemptied in Bellevue Road -

@NTCleanStreets @Kityara_chloe @theSpurtle -and around 8 bags of overflow just collected by council today, presumably now going for landfill

@NTCleanStreets @Kityara_chloe @theSpurtle Any idea what's going on?

@theSpurtle It's the same every were. The city council not fit for purpose.

Melgund Terrace recycling bin, emptied today at 3.35pm. 1/2 @NTCleanStreets @LAHinds @MasterMelrose

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Broughton Spurtle Broughton Spurtle ‏@theSpurtle

But think same lorry emptied landfill bin from E. Claremont St 5 minutes later. Mixed messages. 2/2 @NTCleanStreets @LAHinds @MasterMelrose

@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets @LAHinds @MasterMelrose Yes -official line is that the lorry has 2 compartments.

Ella Taylor-Smith Ella Taylor-Smith ‏@EllaTasm 

@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets @LAHinds @MasterMelrose Though it doesn't mentionit on this page http://www.heilfarideu.com/heil-farid-products/waste-category-collection-types/10-vehicles/31-fmo-side-loader 

Hi @HeilFarideu- does this lorry have 2 compartments to keep recycling and landfill separate? @LAHinds, @theSpurtle, @NTCleanStreets

@theSpurtle @LAHinds Good at firefighting but can we please have a coordinated policy so we don't keep getting the same probs all the time

 Paul Bennett I am afraid Edinburgh in general is getting to look like a very dirt unkempt city in all areas, chewing gum everywhere dirty areas and the worst is the horrendous way cigarette ends are left on top of rubbish bins to all the rages of weather....disgusting. Why can't we use this system that do in Aberdeen and in cities in Australia.

 Paul Burgess This is a city wide problem not just confined to Broughton. You'd think councils would have worked out rubbish collections after years of practice

 Emily Simpson Interesting as we've just heard (round the corner) we are getting the big recycling bins instead of the box collection.

 Bill Dunlop My late Pa, a cynic of the first water, was wont to mutter 'Edinburgh Council, destroying jobs, creating chaos'. Plus ca change, it seems...