Fortnightly bin collections for rural areas mooted
A Fife councillor has suggested that risks to bin lorry drivers could be reduced and some collection costs could be halved by introducing fortnightly collections in rural areas.
- By Gordon Berry
- Published in the Courier : 26.08.10
- Published online : 26.08.10 @ 01.34pm
The comments have been made by the chairman of Fife Council's north-east Fife area committee Andrew Arbuckle in response to an internal review of waste management services.
Mr Arbuckle said on Wednesday that he noted concern about exposing the workforce to "whole body vibration" — an issue that has been raised for lorry crews who regularly go up and down long and bumpy country tracks.
The councillor also said that in 2008 a meeting had been held with all north-east Fife councillors to see how recycling rates could be improved in an area formerly rated as the second best recycler in Scotland.
He said that a number of thoughts were put forward as to how the service could be improved while also reducing expenditure, including changes to collections in rural areas, but they were "put on hold."
"As I pointed out in January of this year it is possible to immediately halve the risk of whole body vibration to the workforce and also cut the costs associated with collection by 50%," Mr Arbuckle said. "This could be achieved through the introduction on a fortnightly collection in rural areas.
"This was suggested after some rural areas had gone six weeks without a collection and there was no great problem. If one or two households could not cope with a fortnightly collection it may well be cheaper to provide a second bin rather than a weekly collection."
Half-full bins
Mr Arbuckle added that it would be interesting to know how many of the weekly trips up poor roads result in either no collection or the emptying of half-full bins.
"In my local area I estimate only two-thirds of the bins are put out for a weekly collection," he said.
The councillor also said that at a site meeting last year it had been suggested that contact could be made with local people to see how their part of a costly collection service could be rationalised.
"By involving local people and not imposing change it would have been possible to reduce costs. So far there has been no follow-up," he said.
Mr Arbuckle has also expressed concern over a suggestion that there should be "road end" collections throughout Fife as a uniform policy.
"I support a road end collection where there is a poor road or long road, or a single property, but there are instances in my councillor area, which is geographically the largest in Fife, where there are some 20 or so properties up that road.
"I do not want to see a line of 20 grey bins and then a line of 20 blue bins and possibly another of brown bins stretched out along the roadsides of some of our most scenic roads. I see this in other parts of Scotland and it does nothing for their tourism industry."
Mr Arbuckle said his suggestions are intended to simultaneously reduce costs, improve recycling rates and improve efficiency, while also reducing risk to the workforce.
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Gene Hunt.
08.56am - 27.08.2010 Mrs Smith - Elie, Fife Report This
So does this mean if you live up a country lane and travel it twice a day, we're at extreme risk. The bin lorries refuse to come along my lane and many others, and our bins are collected from the end of the road, next they will want us to load the lorries ourselves.
06.07pm - 27.08.2010 Fedupfifer - Cupar, UK Report This
What utter twaddle....what risk? whole body vibration...the man's daft as a brush. I live in the country and our bin is stuffed full at the end of the week. What about the risk of vermin? No doubt there would be no reduction in council tax. Pathetic!
07.19pm - 07.12.2010 Margaret McCallum - Kennoway, Fife Report This
Given the inclement weather our bins have not been emptied . Does this mean we are to wait for a month with bins overflowing ?I am aware there is a disruption to services but there has been no notification of when our service will be resumed !!Will you be willing to pick up the residue we bag ?
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