I feel this thread is somehow gone off topic. I have recently received Around Ealing and it dedicates two full pages to recycling. First of all let’s have a chat to its heading “50% by 2020”. I remember sitting in the Council chamber when time and time again the then Shadow cabinet member (not other than Cllr Mafhouz) who is now the portfolio holder responsible for transport and environment, kept criticising the then Conservatives Administration of not wanting to commit itself to achieve 50% recycling rate by 2015. When his group took control of the Council in 2010 they have given themselves not 5 but 10 years to reach that target. (‘Do as I say but don’t do as I do’ comes to mind here!).Secondly, let’s have a look at the 41% current recycling rate. By end of 2010, under the old contractor, recycling rates was 39% - a 20% increase from 2006 when Labour was booted out. The following year, still under the old contractor, recycling rates reached the 43% mark. It then came the disastrous new contract which was meant, it was claimed, to save the council millions of pounds. With it came the stealth tax of £40 to Ealing residents who wanted to have their green waste collected fortnightly. Over 5,000 residents signed our petition but, as in true Labour style, it was ignored. The council was warned that residents were not prepared to pay for a service that used to be free and weekly and would not use it. Not only that but this tax would discourage people from recycling more. Compound to this was the great mess from the contractors: missed collections; not enough lorries and/or lorries of the wrong size for our streets; the mixed collections; difficulties in getting replacement items and so on – and then they wonder why after three years in power recycling rate is dropping rather than rising. If in three years it has just managed to rise of a 1%, what chances does the council has to reach the 50% in seven years’ time???To try and lure people into subscribing to the garden waste Labour is now offering a 25% discount. What is not clear, however, is whether this discount also applies to pensioners and disabled residents as well who have already benefited from a 25% discount. It will be interested to see if this incentive will increase the uptake of this service. I doubt it very much!
Rosa Popham ● 4552d