Residents in parts of Cornwall where a new waste collection service has started are struggling to understand why their rubbish has not been collected. They were told it was because they were using seagull proof bags – with the wrong colored handles, black instead of white.
A number of people have accused Cornwall Council of wasting money and are angry at the irony that the black-handled bags they have been using until now should be placed in white-handled bags with the rest of their rubbish in the black-bagged bin. 0 because they cannot be recycled. The council claims the new standardized service will be far more efficient and will encourage recycling.
Gary Miller wrote to CornwallLive asking: “I wonder if you know how many people have been refused bin collections because the seagull proof bags have the ‘wrong colour’ handles? I was refused collection today and after I asked the collection Why didn’t they pick up my trash they said the bag didn’t have white handles.
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“We were not given the option of having a new bag when the new bins were delivered and there was no mention of this being passed on to my property. I noticed today that this was the case in many towns in Cornwall where the new container collection scheme is in place; Facebook seems to mention a lot of these incidents.”
He added: “Unfortunately I’m in a position where I can’t have one of the big wheelie bins because I don’t have access to my property at the back and there are no pavements outside it. My only option is to leave the bin in the road , exacerbating the limited parking problem we already have on this street and frankly making the area look very untidy, as a taxpayer and resident of Cornwall Council I find it far from satisfactory.
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A resident of Millbrook, Rameau Peninsula, who did not wish to be named, also contacted us: “Do you know or could you find out why the residents of Millbrook and surrounding areas have had to give up their completely gull-proof garbage bags for exactly the same bags, capacity etc but with white handles instead of black, doesn’t it seem like a waste of money when the council are trying to save money?’
A resident of Saltash posted a photo of the two bags side by side on social media, commenting: “I’m so disgusted! Notice the difference – on the right is my old seagull bag that I bought shortly before the bag on the left was given out.. Men won’t take my old rubbish , because I thought it was all about recycling Cornwall Council!”
“My parents had the exact same problem yesterday. Called the council and was told there was nothing they could do. My mom was told to just throw the old seagull bag in the trash because it can’t be recycled,” added another.
Another resident defended the council: “But we’ve all been told not to use our old bins or bags and I know that’s frustrating. I know people who had perfectly good wheelie bins but can’t use them but the new rules – these are the rules (right or wrong) All your rubbish has to go into the bag or bin brought by the council and I’m afraid that’s it. We had months to sort it out before I got the word out about it Jan/Feb “.
A spokesman for Cornwall Council responded to the criticism: “Our new recycling and litter collection service aims to encourage everyone to reduce waste and recycle more. To help with this, we supply all properties with a new standardized 180 liter bin or bag which we will collect from the kerb every two weeks.
“All rubbish must be placed in a new bin or bag which our crews can monitor to ensure residents do not exceed the amount of rubbish they can take out. This will also ensure that every household has the right size bin or bag and in As soon as a new waste disposal service is available in your area, our teams will only collect rubbish from the new bins or bags that we have provided, for example when you have an old sack as garden storage.’
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We asked specifically about people’s concern that the bags are exactly the same color as the pens, so why can’t residents continue to use them?
“As part of our new waste collection service in Cornwall, for the first time we are asking residents to limit the amount of rubbish they can throw away to what can fit in their bin or protective bag every fortnight,” the spokesman added.
“In order for our collectors to apply the new litter restriction rule, they must be able to clearly see that only the new gray bins or bags with white handles that we have issued are being used for rubbish collection, and that no additional bins are also put out for collection, which residents may still have.
“We are encouraging anyone who has a bag to repurpose it or alternatively we can collect residents’ old bags as soon as their new litter collection starts if they book one at www.cornwall.gov.uk/bindelivery once the service opens for their district.”