More about wheeled bins

Today, Friday 19th June the Daily Mail has printed another two pages about wheeled bins. A further six arguments have been presented - these are all a little more tenuous that the last lot.

1) The recycling industry backs the Daily Mail campaign
2) Certain French and German individuals are making vast amounts of money from selling wheeled bins in the UK
3) Householders have to pay for their bins and this is a stealth tax
4) Southend on Sea has a 40% recycling rate but does not use wheeled bins
5) Wheeled bins and other containers mean that poor Ricky and Sarah Roffey can't use the alleyway at the side of their house
6) Burglars are using bins to break into peoples houses

So does the industry back the campaign? Well no. Phil Hurst of The Campaign for Real Recycling is quoted in The Mail as saying "We are not against wheelie bins". It can't really be much clearer than that.

As to the issue of price and who is profiteering, The Mail claims a wheeled bin is £46. Actually, they sell for less than half of this amount. Straight plc proudly makes its plastic wheeled bins in the UK - and they are the least profitable item in our range.

GDF Suez do not make bins, they service them. They also run many rounds where wheeled bins are not used. The fact that their CEO earns many millions for running this large multi-national corporation generating more than €80 billion has little to do with wheeled bins. Having a go at Sulo boss Mr Grenz for being successful is the politics of envy and nothing more. So what he has got a yacht?

Daily Mail CEO in 2008 was Charles Sinclair who earned nearly £2M for publishing what seems to be an ill informed rag, whilst Chairman The Viscount Rothmere earned £700,000 and has shares worth £313 million. I wonder if either of them has a yacht?

Householders were charged £60 in South Cambridgeshire - but it seems for two bins, not one as reported. It seems they had to call a number to pay for their bins which would then be delivered. I have no issue with people being charged, should bins be free? If they did not pay for the bins up front they would only be charged through the Council Tax. However, this does seem a very inefficient way of doing things. £60 is over the top - two bins should be deliverable for about £45.

Southend on Sea is doing well with its 40% recycling rate. Of course this can be achieved without wheeled bins as everyone in the industry knows. But talk to people on the streets about where they leave their black bags before collection day and you may well get a different story. Foxes can tear bags open - they can't be left outdoors. Also 77,800 bags will cost around £200,000 per year and is very wasteful. After 7 or 8 years of one bag per home a bin could be bought for the same money. The bin would last 10 years at least, so this offers better value. 2 bags per house per week and the figure halves.

I have some sympathy for Ricky and Sarah Roffey. But surely if Mr Roffey has the brains to father three children he must understand that people cannot pass through solid bins and if he wants to use the alleyway at the side of his house he should put them somewhere else. Incidentally, the food waste bin (unforgivably described as a slop bucket) is collected every week in Epsom & Ewell, only the wheeled bins are collected fortnightly. The food waste colletion means the fortnightly collection is perfectly adequate for anyone.

And finally the issue of burglary. Having a wheeled bin does not lead to any increased risk. If people are stupid enough to leave a window open then the burglar might climb on the bin to get through. Moral - shut the window. Better still, block the escape route with your wheeled bins, boxes, slop buckets, dustbins and plastic bags to prevent a quick getaway!