5 days ago
'I have to ask my neighbour to put my rubbish in their bin'
A young Berkshire mum has said getting her rubbish collected every three weeks has left her bins "overflowing" with Forest Council introduced the three-weekly collections in 2021 and West Berkshire Council will follow suit in Warner, who lives in Bracknell, said she had to ask her neighbours if she could use their bins to get rid of rubbish "which we don't know what to do with".Both councils said the bin collection times were designed to encourage recycling, and Bracknell Forest Council said they had been a "resounding success".
With a young family, Ms Warner said even separating the waste for recycling was not enough."We're having to sometimes ask neighbours," said Ms Warner. "We are, as a community, helping each other. We're all trying to work together to make sure that doesn't affect us too much."Another Bracknell mum, Lynne White, also struggles with how often the general waste is collected. She said shas resorted to "decanting" products she buys in the supermarket and the containers in their bins, to keep hers from overflowing. Ms White said also noticed other people's rubbish in her bin, and has seen larger families "struggling" with the collection times.
Greg Leyland said he had been a Bracknell resident since 1969 and had "no issues whatsoever" with the bin collection time. He said collections have always "been spot on time" and he had seen himself recycle more when the frequency was changed in 2021. BBC Radio Berkshire also asked some West Berkshire residents what they thought of the new bin collection times. One said they had two children and "it would have been an absolute nightmare when they were in nappies, I would be absolutely outraged, but now for me it's not too bad".Another said: "It doesn't bother me at all, the only bother I've got is my next door neighbour have got a big family and their bins are always overflowing."
Councillor Stuart Gourley, from West Berkshire Council, said the borough was in the top 10% of waste-producing areas in said the change was part of a "commitment to recycling more, reducing waste and protecting essential local services". Kevin Gibbs, from Bracknell Forest Council, said: "Recycling rates have increased to 54% and we have continued to see good participation in food waste recycling."
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