Perhaps buoyed by sunshine, Environment Vice Convener Jim Orr yesterday thanked Edinbugh residents for recycling 38 percent of their waste – a 5 percent increase on last year.
The Council aims to recycle 50 per cent in 2014.
A new Council report also claims overfilled bins and 'side waste' have reduced markedly: from 4,316 between 4–8 February to 125 between 22–8 April. Spurtle has no way of verifying these figures, or explaining the somewhat arbitrary choice of dates. All may become clear on careful reading of the pdf at the foot of this page.
We are, however, aware that not all local streets are such models of civic virtue. Perhaps dispirited by sunshine, local pessimist and Broughton Place resident Michael Anderson wrote to us on Saturday:
'We were all told that the big bins were designed to avoid bin bags being left in the street all night attracting 'vermin' – indeed we were threatened with fines if we did leave them out early!
'This photo [top-right] shows the scene early this morning as, once again (and again and again), the Council 'forgets' to collect the bins in this street on the correct day. One excuse sometimes has been that it was too windy (!!??) – but that can't have been the case yesterday.
'To be fair, when I ring them up they both do do a special collection and send round a team to clear up the mess – but that's not really the point!'
'Maybe they should make sure that they can collect regularly all the bins already in place before they think of expanding the scheme further?
Plans to roll-out further containerisation across the New Town are supposedly being finalised this month ahead of implementation in July. Spurtle will believe it when we see it.
In the meantime, for purposes of comparison and in hope of encouraging wider colour coordination of bin lids and bunnets, we reproduce below an image of Hart Street taken earlier in the year.
What is your experience of bin collection in Broughton – both wheelie bins and recycling buckets? Tell us by email spurtle@hotmail.co.uk on Facebook Broughton Spurtle or Twitter @theSpurtle
Reaction
As much as I’d like to condemn the Council for Broughton’s rubbish problem, I think some residents need to start taking responsibility. I live on Cumberland Street and between the Cumberland Bar and Dundas Street there are four big bins, two at either end. Usually the two next to the bar fill up first and then people start to leave bin bags on the ground. All it takes is a short walk up the street to find a half-full bin. I admit this is not always the case but there’s no harm in taking the time to check, instead of dumping your rubbish on the ground and allowing it to spill out.
In addition the rubbish bins are often full of cardboard boxes or bags of glass bottles, which could have easily been recycled and this would free up some much needed space. Cumberland Street is still waiting on the arrival of the food bins; this could help make the bags less attractive for the local gulls and vermin unless they are looking to build a nest with an egg carton or two.
Also from my building, less than half the residents actually recycle using the council collections. Despite weekly recycling collections, there are only ever two boxes outside my building. Maybe this is an issue the Council needs to address. With all the houses and flats in the area, we should be complaining about lack of pavement space once a week!
The more we recycle, the more space we will have in the bins and we might even save the planet at the same time.
Rhys Fullerton
(Cumberland Street)
@theSpurtle it’s a fair point. Noticed that on McDonald Road today. One bin full with bags around it, another one 10 meters away half empty.