City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) is failing to discharge its duties in clearing litter and refuse. So says the New Town Clean Streets Campaign’s Fred Street, who in the article below points to a wide gap between what the Scottish Government expects of the Council and what actually happens on a day-to-basis.
NTCSC recently alerted the Council via Twitter to a large communal wheelie-bin on Hamilton Place which was very seriously overflowing.
Another Twitter user revealed that he had reported the same bin to CEC seven days previously; noting that sidewaste had been cleared from around the bin in the interim, but that the bin itself had not been emptied in 10 days. Two days later, a reply from CEC was received via Twitter. It stated that CEC had 10 days in which to respond to reports of litter, and that therefore action was imminent.
The collection schedule for these bins stipulates twice weekly collections, so what sense is there in a 10-day response window?
‘Pissed Off’ of EH4 helpfully alerted NTCSC to this document. It is the 'Environmental Protection Act 1990: Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (Scotland) 2006', and it sets out CEC's statutory obligations in the management of street litter.
CEC must classify all areas in the city according to 'zones'. Zone 1 is 'town centres, shopping centres and shopping streets'; Zone 2 'high density residential areas (terraced, tenemental and flatted housing)'. Most of the New Town and Greater Spurtleshire must therefore be Zone 2, if not Zone 1.
On receiving a report that a street or area in Zone 2 is not litter-free, CEC has a set amount of time to return it to a litter-free state. The amount of time depends on the severity of the grottiness.* But if a Zone 2 street is 'heavily littered with significant accumulations' then CEC must return it to a litter-free state within 3 hours.
So why would CEC have us believe that 10 days is fine?
The bottom line is that we all need to be much smarter in managing the Council. We need to report every incident of littering we see, and follow up if it is not cleared within the mandatory timescales.
Many of us are reluctant to make more of a fuss, as we’re aware of the sterling efforts of long-suffering Council staff charged with clearing up litter that shouldn't have been dropped or dumped in the first place. But until we all start making more noise about this, and forcing CEC to allocate more resources to this important activity, we should not be surprised if things go on much as before.
It should also be noted that CEC claims to have a regular street-sweeping schedule whereby, for example London Street, Northumberland Street, North West Circus Place and Cumberland Street are swept weekly. In reality, the only thing happening here is that the bins are being emptied.
Is it too much to ask that these services and standards be adhered to?
* GRADE A – no litter or refuse; GRADE B – predominantly free of litter and refuse, apart from a few small items; GRADE C – consistent distribution of litter and refuse with minor accumulations; and GRADE D – heavily littered with significant accumulations.
Got a view? Tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Patrick Hadfield Shared... Not liked!
@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets "Is it too much to ask that these services and standards be adhered to?" #QTWTAIY, apparently.
@theSpurtle @NTCleanStreets "So why would CEC have us believe that 10 days is fine?" Because @Edinburgh_CC don't believe rules apply to them
Rhona Stewart Cameron The Council is failing the New Town in every respect. Time for a clean out of the whole Council from top down.
Broughton Spurtle Spurtle thinks most people at CEC want to help all Edinburgh under very difficult financial circumstances. CEC gets some things wrong, inevitably, and waste collection is one of them at present. But vast majority of officials and elected reps are well-intentioned and hard working.
@Edinburgh_CC @LAHinds @AndrewDBurns @TheScotsman @edinburghpaper failing city again?? In election year!? http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/council-fails-code-practice …
@litternobug @AndrewDBurns @edinburghpaper also excess bags were cleared. Sorted out in a day when reported to me at my surgery
Fred Street (NTCS) says: Is nothing going to happen in this city without Cllr Hinds' intervention? What about the people who had been reporting it via the proper channels since 6 Oct?
@LAHinds @AndrewDBurns @edinburghpaper surely the issue is failing system you as duty body control at CEC? @NTCleanStreets @TheScotsman
@litternobug @AndrewDBurns @edinburghpaper @NTCleanStreets bin would have been emptied if no illegal dumping in bin had not happened
But problem is constant & city-wide, not just this bin! Do you agree there's a problem? @LAHinds @litternobug @AndrewDBurns @edinburghpaper
Also don't understand what 'illegal dumping in a bin' can be, or why this might prevent emptying? @LAHinds @litternobug @edinburghpaper