2 February (Part 2) - A rare happy ending
Perhaps the most frequent comment about recycling services to hit my Inbox is the way that refuse
collectors toss residents’ carefully segregated recycling material into the same hopper in the back of
their truck. On second thoughts the most common criticism may be how they litter the streets with rubbish
and carry on their merry way.
When the complaint is about mixing tins and glass together I have been known to
excuse the practice on the grounds that not all the trucks are dual purpose, but
that reason may be invalid now that we are a year past the date
when the new vehicle fleet was supposed to have been introduced.
The last complaint about this issue was
a week ago
and one resident simply couldn’t get an answer to his questions out of Bexley Council.
And no it wasn’t John Watson.
But now the complainant is very pleased with an answer recently received. It confirms his view that what
has been going on must be wrong.
Just
as he thought, his road is served by a vehicle equipped with two separate receptacles
but the operatives have not used the facility. Their excuse is that some
residents are mixing materials so it’s not worth them maintaining any
distinction between the two. I would have thought that such a thing merited
serious disciplinary action.
The correct procedure is to red tag contaminated recycling boxes and make a note
of it on the in-cab computer so that regular offenders can be given suitable advice.
John Matthews is the man who has rescued Bexley’s reputation with his refreshing
honesty. Maybe I should have reported the fly tipping and the unjustified use of
two bins to him rather than
his ineffective boss Stephen Didsbury?