A Council consultation seeking the views of local residents on how to improve waste collection in the city centre World Heritage Site has been extended until 28 January.

During the next few weeks, the Council will be seeking views from the public by inviting all people within the area to fill in an online survey on how to modernise the waste collection service in this historic area. There is also to be a special roadshow for residents to have a look at some options available and have their say at the City Centre Neighbourhood Office, 1 Cockburn Street today, 10 January.

The Council has already hosted a number of meetings and is urging residents to have their say.

At the moment, black bags are currently used but are ripped open by seagulls and vermin. This can lead to litter being strewn across the street. The current service means that all the household rubbish is thrown into one black bag – making it more difficult to recycle.

Maybe the council could have a look at these bags used by South Ham council – pretty obvious what this would mean, but then do we want to keep using plastic bags of any kind for our rubbish?

The Council wants to tackle these local issues, so that waste is better controlled, the area is kept clean and beautiful and there is a better uptake of recycling.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environmental Leader, said: “This consultation is all about improving the cleanliness and appearance of the City Centre and any solution has to be both practical and deliverable in a cost effective way. We want to deliver a 21st Century waste service for local residents with less litter and better recycling and I am looking forward to working with residents and hearing suggestions from locals on how this can be achieved.”

When finding a solution to waste management in the city centre, different kinds of house sizes and designs will have to be taken into consideration, as well as planning constraints.

Some of the options that may be considered for trials in the spring include kerbside collection of food, paper, card and other materials, gull proof bags, individual or communal containers for waste or recycling, garden waste bins, different collection times as well as other practical ideas from residents.

The public survey will run until 28 January 2010 and can be filled in online, downloaded from the website, posted or taken in to one of the local Council offices or libraries.

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