London council faces backlash from furious residents after axing weekly bin collection

A London council has been hit by a backlash from residents after announcing plans to axe its weekly bin collection and switch to a fortnightly pick-up. Waltham Forest council said that, from March, residents living in street properties would have to wait two weeks for their black bin – for general refuse – to be collected. They said switching to a fortnightly collection would lead to an increase in fly tipping, would attract vermin and increase the problem of foxes tearing binbags apart, and would lead to foul smells, particularly in warmer weather.

However residents living in blocks of flats will continue to have their communal bins collected weekly. The Labour-run council currently charges one of the highest council taxes in London at £2,173 for band D households for services including refuse collection. It is due to reveal details of its annual hike in council tax bills next week. One angry resident, Theo Theodorou, asked the council: “Would it be ok if I pay my council tax every other month from now on?”.

Another resident, Emel Ozkarakasli, said: “Our black bin was swapped over from the large one to the smaller one some time ago - without our knowledge. This now is full, sometimes overflowing every week!! So how is a fortnightly collection going to help this?. “I’m sure loads of other residents are in the same situation and what’s going to happen in the summer when the bins have vermin, flies, maggots?”.

Ninia Benjamin said: “As councils go, London Borough of Waltham Forest is determined to prove they have a distaste for residents. “If you really truly believe the council gives two hoots about the stink, the dumping and or foxes – think again.”. Caitlin Pedder said: “This is going to smell LOVELY in the summer, especially for those of us in terraced houses where our bins are right under our windows.”.

Others warned that elderly residents with continence issues relied on their black bin to dispose of sanitary pads. Christine Marson asked: “Why do they assume people who live in houses have less rubbish than people who live in flats?”. The council provides residents with four bins – a small black bin for general, non-recyclable rubbish, a large green bin for recyclable items, a small brown bin for garden waste and a small “caddy” for food waste.

The green recycling bin and food waste caddy will continue to be collected weekly, while the garden waste will remain fortnightly. All collections are done by separate teams, meaning four refuse lorries are required to visit each property. Previously residents were able to add food waste to their garden waste bin. Waltham Forest said that 259 out of 295 UK councils with responsibility for bin collections empty their residual waste bins on a fortnightly basis – or with longer gaps between pick-ups.

Clyde Loakes, Waltham Forest’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate and air quality, said: “Waltham Forest is joining the vast majority of UK councils that collect residual waste on a fortnightly basis – research shows that 90 per cent of councils with responsibility for waste collections operate a fortnightly or even three-weekly schedule. “These include the councils with the highest recycling rates in the country. If the residents of those councils can embrace this important behaviour change then I have every confidence Waltham Forest residents, with the right suite of bins on their doorstep, can do the same.”.

Cllr Loakes added: “These changes are part of our ambition to improve recycling rates in Waltham Forest and become a net-zero borough by 2030. “Currently, it’s estimated that around 85 per cent of all Waltham Forest householders’ waste can now be recycled on their own doorstep in either their green wheelie bin or food waste caddy, both of which are collected weekly, alongside their brown wheelie bin for garden waste, which is collected fortnightly.

“We all need to do more to recycle all that we can and reduce the amount of black bin waste that cannot be recycled to a minimum. “The change builds on the success of our food waste collection rollout last year – we are now collecting over 100 tonnes of food waste each week that would previously have gone into black bins. “Overall, we shall be collecting more bins when this change comes in over a resident's two-week bin cycle than we were this time last year.”.