New bins to be delivered in May or June
The council are currently advising us that bins are unlikely to be delivered in Brackenbury until May or June at the earliest and the rollout will be undertaken street by street and will take some weeks to complete.
Our walk around
Following our previous meeting on 18th January with council officials and the Leader of the Council, as planned, we recently held a walkaround the of the Brackenbury area with Annie Baker, Assistant Director, Street Environmental Services and Pat Cosgrove, one of her officers. This was conducted jointly with BRA and HGRA and was attended by representatives of both associations.
The aim of this was to consider the implications of the proposed rollout of new bins by LBHF council within the Brackenbury area, including Hammersmith Grove and adjacent streets and particularly to investigate with the council issues around the likely placement of bins when being delivered.
Concerns have been raised elsewhere in the borough about the unsuitability of some locations where bins had been placed and we are very keen to avoid that here in Brackenbury.
The council intends to assess each property on the day of delivery as to whether they are suitable to accommodate bins within front gardens or other external spaces. The assessments are to be carried out by council officers together with managers from Veolia, the councils new waste removal contractor.
We identified a wide range and significant number of different properties on our walk around where it was acknowledged by the council officers that bins were unlikely to fit due to a lack of sufficient external space. No bins will be placed on the footway.
Where properties are deemed not to have suitable level space to accommodate the new black and green bins and accessible from the street, then, for those properties, bag collections for general waste and recycling will need to continue.
How the Council will assess whether properties could have the new bins
Bins will not be delivered for example to properties with front steps rising from the pavement or with deep unfenced basement areas or where there is insufficient space to locate the bins at ground level.
Gardens with grass, gravel or earth surfaces or with uneven paving and other similar surface treatments are also likely to be unsuitable as the bins won’t be able to be wheeled across a rough or uneven surface or up or down steps.
No need to change your garden.
No one is being asked to modify their garden space to accommodate the new bins. Residents don’t need to relocate planters or flowerpots for example to make room for the bins. Consideration will also be given to whether there will need to be access maintained for cars, bicycles and disability vehicles. This access should not be blocked.
Food Waste Bins
The council do however wish to encourage all households to have separate new lockable food bins and these are smaller and potentially easier to fit into existing garden spaces. Many residents have indicated to us that they can see the benefit of these in preventing vermin from breaking open bags and dispersing the contents all over the streets. Paired with the external food bin is a smaller waste caddy for day to day internal use. How these will operate will be explained by the council on delivery.
Different size bins will be available
For those properties where bins can be accommodated and where the residents wish to have bins the council are prepared to offer different bin sizes to deal with peoples differing waste needs. (Bin sizes are listed in the Appendix)
We have received a lot of concerns about the disproportionate size of the biggest bins and, as a result, we are currently discussing with the council whether the smallest bin should be the normal standard for the area and for a resident to trade up to a larger bin if they need to. The size of bins has been an issue discussed broadly across the wider community and that is why we are suggesting starting with a smaller bin size.
The council will advise residents near the time on the specific bin sizes that can be made available and are prepared to swap bins for different sizes if wanted by residents.
Bins need to be suitable to fit the hoists of the new waste collection vehicles and therefore existing bins cannot be emptied directly into the lorries.
The council will replace old bins with new ones on request and if no longer wanted will take the old bins away free of charge.
The new bins will remain the property of the Council and will be replaced if damaged or stolen.
Bin Stores – existing and new
One of the main issues around the rollout is the potential impact of bins in front gardens and in full view from the street on the look of the conservation area.
Clearly hiding bins in bin stores is one practical way to ameliorate this.
We looked with the council at whether a new bin will fit into existing bin stores.
Existing bin stores
We observed a significant number of properties with bin stores in their front gardens, especially in some of the larger properties in the area split into multiple dwellings. It appeared that most of these bin stores that we saw are probably too low in height without modification to suit a new bin or bins.
The council is not requiring any resident to have to modify their bin store. Nor do we think these should be wasted by being left empty and redundant with new bins placed in front occupying other valuable garden space.
Landlords and homeowners with be able to choose whether to have new bins or continue to use their existing bins which fit in the stores and use them as now to hold waste in bags between collection days.
Waste can still be collected in bags as it is now where residents in properties for whatever reason cannot use the new bins. Any waste put out in bags will be put into a rolling bin by operatives which is then suitable for lifting by the van hoist.
New Bin Stores
Residents may wish to build new stores to conceal the new taller bins, but please be aware that you would still need to apply for planning permission from the council to build a new bin store. Applications would be subject to height restrictions for such permanent structures in front gardens under existing planning regulations for the conservation area. Permission is typically only granted for structures lower than 1 metre in height.
It appears the tallest of the new bins would not meet the permitted height criteria and therefore would not be suitable for putting in a new bin store, but the smallest might. We are still trying to obtain further clarity on this. This could influence the size of bins you will need to ask for.
Suitable and unsuitable locations for the new bins
We have raised other issues with the council about where bins might conveniently and sensibly be placed. Clearly where the bins will be situated is critical to the success of this scheme and for its overall acceptability to residents.
We are suggesting that the placement of the new bins must be practicable and shouldn’t materially or adversely affect the life of a resident. They also need to be easily accessible for the waste contractors to remove them from a garden and replace them to where they found them when empty.
Where we are suggesting bins should not be located.
We have asked the council not to place bins in a small garden in such a way as to obstruct a front door or block the amenity of a resident’s view out of their front window or block their access to their own garden. This is largely subjective but also requires a degree of simple common sense.
A number of properties in the area have tall ground floor windows with exceptionally low sills. It would not be correct to sit bins in front of such low windows and we have asked the council to avoid doing so. Bins should be situated away from front windows.
It would also not make sense to place bins where a resident would need to move them out of the way for example to have access to their garden space to clear a blocked drain or prune a tree or plant a window box, especially if they are on wheels that can’t be flexibly turned and are of such a size and weight that a resident couldn’t move them without potentially risking injury. Several more elderly residents have raised this as concern. Large heavy bins would be a problem for many residents to deal with if they had to move them unaided.
Bins should not be placed where they would obstruct access for a cycle owner to park and store a bicycle in their garden. The same applies to any other vehicles which are parked in front gardens, cars or disability scooters for example.
We have also asked that bins should not be situated on front steps or the approach to front steps if the effect would be to narrow or restrict easy access to a property.
We have asked the council to consider the safety of the residents as well as that of the contractors when judging whether bins can be raised over small steps or steered through a garden or set on a small platform adjacent to a front door.
It would not be reasonable for a resident to have to move a bin or bins out of the way if they wanted to routinely access their home or garden in a property with a baby buggy, a bicycle or scooter, carrying a suitcase or shopping or with a shopping cart.
The council should take care not to impede easy access for the elderly, vulnerable or infirm so as to risk them tripping or falling as a consequence of where a bin is located. Narrowing a pathway or the width of steps or being prevented from being able to hand hold the railings while climbing steps by putting bins in the way would not be acceptable.
Bins should also not be placed close to the edge of steps or a raised area where a resident might risk tripping and falling when loading a bin with their waste, especially after dark.
We are expecting the council to quickly resolve issues raised by residents
Clearly, although we can make such suggestions related to bin placements, we cannot cover all possible eventualities and residents will need to raise any specific issues affecting them directly with the council if they are unhappy.
If, when the bins are delivered, you have concerns about where they are being placed and find the arrangement unsuitable you should contact the council and ask them to make changes. They will publish a contact number and email address for residents to use specifically to deal with issues around the new bins.
They recognise that this process may not go 100% smoothly at first but assure us that they are fully prepared and equipped to iron out any problems that may arise. You will be able to contact them to request a change in arrangements or for them to remove bins if they prove unsuitable for your needs or to request a larger bin if you typically have more waste than the average or vice versa.
The council are keen to offer choices to residents to make this process easier for all.
No one will be obliged to have the new bins if they don’t want them.
In the first instance the council are very keen that residents should trial the new bin arrangements as they believe this will best assist them in increasing volumes of recycling and reducing costs to the taxpayer, but we have been reassured that if residents don’t want to accept the bins, and find them impractical or unsuitable they are not obliged to have them. They are keen that residents should choose what is best for them individually.
We will be continuing the dialogue with the council over the next couple of months and will advise further on this when we have more information. Our next meeting is currently being planned for mid April.
A number of residents had written to BRA already about the new bins, based on observing how bins are situated elsewhere and due to lack of more specific information from LBHF, fearful of how the Council will be implementing their new scheme for waste collection in our area. We have already forwarded their comments to council officers, and I hope that our on-going discussions with the council, as summarised here and in previous communications have clarified some aspects of this.
Bin Sizes
140-litre general rubbish bin
The main dimensions of the 140-litre black general rubbish bin are:
Height – 1100 mm
Width – 490 mm
Depth – 555 mm
A smaller 120-litre bin, which may be more suitable in Brackenbury for many homes, will be available. The dimensions of this are:
Height – 930 mm
Width – 490 mm
Depth – 545 mm
It is hoped that this size should fit into many existing bin stores.
240-litre recycling bin
The main dimensions of the 240-litre green recycling bin are:
Height – 1100 mm
Width – 590 mm
Depth – 740 mm
A smaller 120-litre green bin will also be available for recycling if required. The dimensions of this are:
Height – 930 mm
Width – 490 mm
Depth – 545 mm
It is hoped that this size should fit into many existing bin stores.
The dimensions of the Food Waste Bin are :
Height – 430 mm
Width – 390 mm
Depth – 320 mm
However, if you wish to make comments in the light of this further information and send them to us, we will forward them to the Council. Please contact
Brendan Smith, Streetscene and Traffic Coordinator: Streetscene@brackenburyresidents.co.uk