Changes to recycling
You may well have had a leaflet through your door recently about quite major changes to the way Camden handles recycling.
The council plans to do away with the always-disappearing blue bags and the never-quite-big-enough-for-all-my-wine-bottles green boxes and replace them next summer with one wheelie bin.
This bin will be the sole receptacle for paper, plastic and glass recycling. Food waste will conut in one place.
Apparently, “experience from other councils that have introduced wheelie bins shows that by providing additional storage capacity the amount of recycling increases.”
This is not hugely surprising – it is, after all, a bit of a faff to have to separate stuff out, especially for those who live in flats who might not have so much room for all the various bags and boxes and bins.
Camden is not rushing into this without checking with you lot though; specifically on the important matter of what size and what colour you want the bin to be. There are also some other data gathering questions about how much you like to recycle, whether it gives you a warm glow, that sort of thing.
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| They come in TWO sizes (gasp) |
You can fill in the survey here.
If you have not received a letter, but would like to be considered for a wheelie bin, then you should definitely fill in the survey. Camden will then contact you about your request. There are also roadshows where you will be able to see the wheelie bins (it’s like the Olympic torch all over again) and ask questions. There are some brilliant questions already answered in an FAQ document. This tells you, for example, that you can hold on to your existing green box and perhaps keep your tools in it!
The nearest roadshows to us are:
Thursday October 25th 2pm-5pm, Kilburn library, 12-22 Kilburn High Road, NW6 5UH
Thursday November 1st 10.30am-1pm, Swiss Cottage library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA
Friday November 2nd 11.30am-2pm, West Hampstead library, Dennington Park Road, NW6 1AU.
Meanwhile, click the image below for a full-size reminder of what you can and can’t recycle.
At last! Camden have been mixing the recycling for at least a year (or more) anyway. They will send you a wheelie bin now if you have 10 or more flats in block too (just ask). This new scheme is bound to make a huge difference. Why are they waiting almost a year to roll this out. Just get on with it. Our building bought our own recycling wheelie bin about 2 years ago – so much easier and tidier too. Now, where can I store my tools!?
I think this is great; we were going to go and buy some wheeling bins for our flats because the boxes are too small to be useful for very much. No idea why it's taking them until mid 2013 to actually hand out the bins though!
“Camden is not rushing into this without checking with you lot though”
Yes they are. Who said we wanted wheelie bins anyway? They are totally inappropriate for many properties in my road and are going to cause major problems for those who do not have sufficient space for them at street level. They will end up being left on the pathway all week, causing an obstruction and looking unsightly.
The reason why recycling rates are not higher is because Camden NEVER communicates about recycling. If they tried managing the existing system better, they would get better results without wasting massive amounts of money on inappropriate containers.
I agree with Anonymous above 100% – and have written to Camden and to Ham & High (published last week) about it. We have nowhere to put a wheelie bin. I don't think the bin won't fit where our recycling boxes are now without blocking the stairs to the basement flat, which means it will be left on the pavement. How do you fancy living in a street with wheelie bins all up and down it?