Conservative-led West Lindsey District Council Named Best Council For Refuse Collections Service

Conservative-led West Lindsey District Council's Operational Service Team has been voted the best in the country for its bin collections, for the second year running.

Steve Leary with Coronation Street star Catherine
Tyldesley and Cllr Malcolm Parish

West Lindsey District Council kerbside collections of the black, blue and green bins have been awarded Best Performer in England: Refuse Collection by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE). APSE is a national benchmarking group that promotes excellence in public services among over 300 councils.

The winners were announced at a charity dinner in Blackpool, hosted by Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley who plays Eva Price. Chairman of Prosperous Communities Committee, Cllr. Malcolm Parish , Conservative (Welton Ward), said:

“I am very proud of our waste people, they have done a brilliant job. To have won this award two years in a row, is absolutely amazing. 

“It is fantastic news, and our residents should be really proud that we have been voted as having the best refuse collectors in the country. 

“Every week our collection teams empty up to 60,000 bins across an area of 447 square miles. Winning this award is national recognition for their efforts in delivering highly valued public services."

Opening the awards APSE National Chair Leon Unczur said:

“Local councils have led the way on delivering first class local public services. Using performance information has been a vital tool in that success.”

Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Jeff Summers, Conservative (Waddingham & Spital Ward), said:

“West Lindsey residents are doing fantastically well to recycle more than half a tonne of waste materials per household each year.  

“It is testament not only to all the hard work that council officers have put in but also the way in which residents have played their part in making the triple bin scheme such a success. Together, we prevented more than 20,000 tonnes of waste going into landfill last year – saving money and protecting the environment.”

The council was considered against several measures including cost, quality of service, the tonnes of domestic waste recycled per household, the percentage of household waste that is diverted from landfill, and customer satisfaction. The council was highly praised for maintaining its position as one of the highest recycling authorities in the country – despite making significant cost savings. The recycling rate stands at around 54% and the cost of all collections is only just over £1 per property per week on average.

West Lindsey Announces Christmas Waste Service Changes

Most properties in the West Lindsey district will be affected by changes to refuse and recycling collections between Monday, 24th December 2012 and Friday, 4th January 2013.

Local residents can click here to check details of the collection date in their area. 

Residents should refer to their calendar which was delivered to households in October. Residents are also reminded that bins must be out by 7am.
All properties in the South West Ward of Gainsborough on a sack service will be collected on their normal day. This is Thursday for refuse and Friday for recycling.

For any queries please contact the council's Customer Services Team on 01427 676676.

If you have any extra waste to dispose of during this time, the opening hours of local Household Waste Recycling Centres are as follows:

• Summergangs Lane, Lea, Road, Gainsborough 9am – 4pm Open Friday to Monday
• The Rasens, Gallamore Lane, Market Rasen 9am – 4pm Open Friday to Monday
• Great Northern Terrace, Lincoln 9am – 4pm Open Monday to Sunday

All sites are closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day

Please visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/hwrc for further information.

You Can Now Recycle Cartons in West Lindsey

West Lindsey District Council have announced that milk and juice cartons can now be recycled through inclusion in the recyclables that local people can put in there blue wheelie bins.

West Lindsey District Council in conjunction with Tetra Pak Ltd. and the carton industry body ACE UK has just started collecting beverage cartons as part of its doorstep collection service, making it even easier for residents of West Lindsey to recycle yet more of their household waste.

This change came about as Lincolnshire County Council were able to negotiate with Viridor Ltd. the inclusion of the collection of cartons as part of their existing contract for processing recyclables from the West Lindsey and City of Lincoln areas. These will be sorted along with other recyclables at no extra cost to Lincolnshire County Council and therefore no extra cost to local Council Tax Payers.

Once collected, these cartons can be recycled into a number of different products, ranging from plasterboard liner to high strength paper bags and envelopes. Please remember it will help us if you squash your cartons first.

Councillor Gets Dirty

Donning safety boots, hi-vis jacket and gloves Cllr. Mrs. Jackie Brockway, Conservative (Saxilby Ward), spent a day working side by side colleagues in the waste services team.

The West Lindsey District Councillor, who is chairman of the Community and Waste Services Committee, was surprised with her findings. She said:

"This job requires more skills than one might at first expect and I learned a great deal."



Cllr. Mrs. Jackie Brockway having
a go at wheelie bin collections.

Cllr. Mrs. Brockway used a day of her summer holiday to do a shift as a refuse collector on one of the council's refuse freighters. She said: 

"I was surprised by the speed and fluidity with which they do their jobs and I found myself having to run to keep up at first, before getting into a routine.

"They showed me how to inspect the rubbish and to get the bins onto the lifting machinery which then tipped it into the back of the wagon.

"This was far from easy and it took me a few attempts before I got the hang of things.

"My new colleagues were extremely patient with me, even when I failed to get one bin to catch on the lift and the contents fell out onto the road."

Cllr. Mrs. Brockway said she was impressed with how the driver manoeuvred the twenty-six tonne lorry smoothly through some incredibly narrow and difficult traffic situations.

Staff worked with accuracy, managing to remember where every bin came from and Cllr Brockway watched them handling residents' queries with care and diplomacy.

Cllr. Mrs. Brockway added:

"This is not a job for the unfit and there is no slow point in the day when the men can simply stop and take a rest (apart from a short lunch break).



"They're on the go the whole time and they have to be very aware of hygiene, road safety and the needs of residents.

"I was appalled by the way car drivers pushed past the refuse wagon, often at speed, with no care for the safety of the refuse collectors.

 "I'm really grateful to the team for giving me the benefit of their time and experience."

The day was arranged by Operational Service Manager, Mr. Glyn Pilkington and Team Leader Mr. Andy Selby to work with a team of three experienced operatives.

Mr Pilkington said:

"I am really pleased that Cllr Brockway wanted to have a go.

"Refuse and recycling is one service that directly impacts on all residents and therefore it is important that councillors fully understand the difficulties of the service and the need to make it as simple as possible for residents to recycle".

West Lindsey's Refuse and Recycling Collections Return to Normal

West Lindsey District Council have been pleased to announce that all properties which had been unable to be collected from recently, due to the snow and icy conditions, have now had their bins emptied.
Extra crews were out last week to collect bins which the council were unable to empty the previous week.
Iif you do have any problems regarding your collections, please contact a member of West Lindsey District Council's Customer Services staff on 01427 676676.

West Lindey District Council Refuse and Recycling Collections Update

All areas the council were not able to get to on Wednesday were picked up yesterday with the exception of two properties near Legsby which remain inaccessible. Areas outstanding from Thursday, in the Lincoln Fringe, are as follows:

Black Bins

Nettleham

• Ash Tree Avenue
• Riverdale
• Jubilee Court
• Orchard Way
• Brookfield Avenue
• Crescent Close
• The Croft

Burton (All the village)
North Carlton (All the village)
South Carlton (All the village)
Apley (All the village)

Blue Bins

Burton

• Main St (From S-Bend to top of hill)

North Carlton (All the village)

Stainfield (All the village)

Apley (All the village)

New Apley (All the village)

Low Apley (All the village)

The council expect to collect all these properties plus all Fridays work by the end of work today. If they do not meet this target any outstanding work will be collected on Saturday.
 
In a statement on the Council website they say:

"Once again we are sorry for any inconvenience caused and rest assured every effort is being made to rectify the situation. 

"As we are prioritising on catching up on refuse and recycling this week, we are unable to collect garden waste this week."

West Lindsey Outline Catching Up With Waste Collections

West Lindsey District Council has today confirmed that the improving weather situaion, as a result of a slight thaw, means that today the black bin and bin blue will be collected as per their normal rounds.

West Lindsey District Council anticipate that there will be areas where due to remoteness or having steep hills and so on the drivers may deem it unsafe to collect and the crews have been asked to make a note of these so that we can collect later in the week.
The garden waste (green bin) crews will be used today to assist the other crews and to deal with some of the backlog from last week. The council report that should the weather and the conditions of the roads continue to improve, arrangements will be made to organise catch up collections.
The Council are prioritising on catching up with black bin and blue bin collections over the next week, so there will be no green bin collections during the week commencing Monday, 11th January 2010.
As the forecast is still not certain and further snow showers, some potentially heavy, are predicted across the East Midlands. The Council are asking that those residents who have had missed collection should leave their bins in an accessible but safe position and the council's crews will collect as soon as possible.

Giles McNeill’s New Year’s Message

Earlier in the year I was pleased that Conservative led administration at West Lindsey District Council introduced the new ‘triple bin system’ which seems to be working well – delivering on our election promise in the 2008 local elections to provide a free green bin to every household that wants one. The three-bin system helps to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill which is really good. Some local residents contacted me about having been charged the annual fee for the green bin shortly before they became free, I raised this with colleagues on the district council and the Conservatives have acted to ensure that a refund system is now in place.

The recent flooding in the North of England has brought back memories of the flooding that Nettleham suffered in the summer of 2007 and then again in January 2008. I have been working with colleagues at all levels to ensure that this threat is properly assessed and where possible mitigated. A few days before Christmas I and other members of the Parish Council met with two representatives of the Environment Agency to discuss our concerns about increased risk of flooding in the village. The meeting was very productive and has offered a number of reassurances and new avenues to follow-up. Highway drains are also now being cleaned more regularly.

The biggest issue of 2009 was the proposals of Lincoln Rugby Football Club to move their training ground to the village. The two public meetings held by the Parish Council demonstrated how much strong feeling there is in the village. I believe that there was little to object to on planning grounds in the Rugby Club’s planning application. West Lindsey District Council’s planning department has entered the spotlight in recent months with several stories related to planning in the Lincolnshire Echo. A number of problems have been identified and are now being put right. A new departmental manager is being recruited and I am optimistic that the service will be greatly improved in 2010 and beyond.

2010 is going to bring significant challenges. There will be cuts in public spending regardless of which party wins the general election. It is a testament to many long evenings spent pouring over the figures, that I was able to secure, at the current level, the precept – the money collected through Council Tax that goes to the Parish Council – so no increase on the 2008/09 budget.

I am constantly encouraged by the strong community spirit in Nettleham. For my part I will continue to do my best on behalf of local residents in the months ahead.

Wishing you the best for the New Year,

Giles McNeill
Nettleham Parish Councillor

Time to end Gordon Brown’s regime of bin taxes, bin cuts and bin fines

Conservative proposals to increase recycling and improve frontline services

Giles McNeill, Nettleham Parish Councillor, today welcomed new Conservative proposals to end Gordon Brown’s unpopular and damaging policies of bin cuts, bin fines and bin taxes. In a major national policy announcement, Conservatives have unveiled plans to help the local environment and improve services to family homes.

• A Conservative Government will change Whitehall policy, restoring the expectation that councils should offer full weekly collections – ending and reversing the Labour policy of bin cuts, which are harming public health and the local environment in many parts of the country.
• Central funding will be offered to all councils so they can have full weekly collections, on top of a comprehensive recycling service. This will be funded by scrapping a host of unelected quangos and local government red tape. Based on the current rate of cuts, weekly bin collections will disappear completely from Britain by 2013.
• Councils, subject to the ballot box, will still have the final decision on what services to offer – but they will no longer be bullied into cutting services due to Whitehall diktats.
• Gordon Brown’s plans for new bin taxes will be scrapped. Labour’s stealth taxes threaten to harm the environment by fuelling fly-tipping and backyard burning.
• Conservatives will champion green incentives – from trials for free green compost bins, water butts, green cones and garden wormeries, to the ‘Recyclebank’ scheme, used in America, where householders are paid for recycling.
• New powers will be given to councils, allowing them to cut local council tax bills in return for recycling and green behaviour.

Giles McNeill said:

“Gordon Brown is making it ever harder for families to dispose of their waste responsibly. Despite soaring levels of council tax, local people are being hit by cuts to collections, over-zealous use of bin fines and the prospect of expensive new bin taxes which will push up the cost of living. Councils are getting the blame for policies imposed by Whitehall. That must change.

“Conservatives believe that regular rubbish collections are a vital frontline council service to help protect the local environment and public health. We reject Labour’s approach of state bullying, cutting services and higher taxes. We will provide funding for those councils that want to provide proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of comprehensive recycling services.

“We will make it easier for families to go green and increase recycling by working with households, not punishing them with heavy-handed bin taxes, bin cuts and bin fines.”

Environment discussed with Shadow Minister

Meeting with Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Peter Ainsworth MP

I had the good fortune to meet with the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Peter Ainsworth, earlier this afternoon. Together with colleagues from west Lindsey District Council he had been touring the site for proposed new recycling facilities and the district's recycling operation.

Cllr. Adam Duguid (Market Rasen), Deputy Leader of West Lindsey District Council, makes his point to Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Peter Ainsworth.

Peter's commitment to green causes has earned him considerable respect amongst environmental groups. He is well aware that until David Cameron became Leader of the Party, the environment tended to be seen as something of a left wing issue. He passonately believes that it has always been natural territory for Conservatives. We discussed a number of issues, as did colleagues.

Families face ‘double whammy’ of bin taxes and council tax – Giles McNeill

Local environment will suffer from this new stealth tax say Conservatives

Families in Grange-de-Lings, Nettleham and Riseholme face the prospect of new bin taxes on top of council tax, Giles McNeill, Nettleham Parish Councillor, warned today. After confusion in Whitehall, Labour Ministers have finally confirmed that new taxes for bin collections will go ahead.

It is currently against the law for town halls to charge for standard collections of household rubbish. In July, a cross-party Parliamentary Committee savaged the bin tax plans, warning of more fly-tipping, neighbourhood bin wars, non-payment by the public; it said that the plans would raise the overall burden of taxation.

News of higher taxes comes as new official figures published by the Government have exposed that fly-tipping across England is soaring. In West Lindsey, 1,259 incidents of Fly-Tipping were recorded in 2006-07 up 56% from 805 in 2004-05. In total, cleaning up after fly-tipping across West Lindsey has cost local taxpayers £166,439 over the last three years. The Keep Britain Tidy campaign is warning that new bin taxes will make the problem even worse.

Giles McNeill said:
“Bin taxes would harm the local environment and public health by leading to a surge in fly-tipping and backyard burning. The set-up and running costs of such a complex tax, installing microchips in every bin, will mean the overall burden of taxation will rise. Families now face the double whammy of record council tax bills and new bin taxes.

“Yet the soaring costs of waste are yet another example of how Whitehall and EU burdens are being imposed on West Lindsey District Council. The answer is not to create new local taxes. Labour Ministers must stop imposing unfunded obligations and red tape on local communities and cease hiking up local taxes by stealth.”