One of our readers, Jon Chase, of Fettes Grove Proprietors Association, has been in touch again this morning to let us know that once more the refuse lorries have been round but the bins at their development are still overflowing.
He has sent an email to the Environment Convenor, Lesley Hinds, demanding action:-“A bin lorry arrived in North Werber Road about 9:15 AM today and drove off without taking any rubbish away.
There are four communal bins to be emptied – two are full and the other two over half full.
This “service” is getting beyond a joke! Why are we being treated in this manner? I have been in correspondence with the council and councillors for weeks now to get the system working for residents of 1, 2, 3 & 4 North Werber Road, EH4 1TA.”
The Council advised earlier this year that they were making changes to the bin collections, and how you might find out when your rubbish will be collected. Since the new collection service was introduced, they have admitted that there are some areas where difficulties have arisen. In an attempt to deal with these and to keep residents up to speed they have set up a dedicated page on their website which details areas that they know are a problem. Even though Mr Chase has been in touch with the council repeatedly the area he represents is not on the list.
The council is on a long term mission to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill and in turn to reduce the cost of that.This is all part of a long term plan following the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste plan which you can read here:-
The council’s own Waste Prevention strategy has no publication date on it and some of the references are slightly historic (for example it anticipates population of 470,000 in 2016 which we have already exceeded in 2012 as the city’s residents now number just over 500,000 but You can read that on the council’s website here. All of these initiatives are noble and are mindful of the impact that rubbish has on our environment, but it is the implementation in Edinburgh which is causing problems.
Meanwhile, Scottish Greens are calling for stronger action on supermarkets and manufacturers as new figures gathered by the party show that landfill tax has cost Scotland’s 32 councils more than £375million in the past five years.
They have issued this statement today:-
For the first time, the full extent of the Scottish landfill tax bill has been calculated and shows that the 2011/12 bill is 69 per cent higher than in 2007/8 because of rising tax rates aimed at reducing landfill use.
Local authorities are attempting to tackle this crippling cost by rolling out recycling schemes for households but it’s manufacturers and retailers who hold the key to reducing packaging in the first place.
Landfill tax will be devolved to Scotland in 2015, and the Scottish Government is consulting on how the system will work in the future.
Greens are calling for new powers so that the worst companies could be fined for consistent over-packaging.
Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian and environment spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said:
“These landfill tax figures are staggering and highlight the fact that the cost is being shouldered by taxpayers rather than the big businesses creating the problem. We all have a role to play but it’s grossly unfair that the burden is on individuals.
“Vital council services are desperately short of funds so it is essential we tackle this problem at source. So much of this unnecessary waste is created in the private sector but it’s the public who are footing the bill.
“We need to find new ways to put pressure on supermarkets and manufacturers to cut over-packaging and use of non-recyclable materials. We should consider giving local authorities and environmental regulators the power to fine the worst offenders, and I bet most of us can think of plenty of products and retailers to nominate.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
