Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey seeking to save money on rubbish collections?
Thanks to Geoff from Woodlands Park RA for surfacing a poorly publicised 'consultation' on rubbish collection, the wording of which makes it seem very likely that the council are considering making savings on waste collection.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Seema Chandwani (Cllr) on
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Where is that? It’s not showing when I do it
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Permalink Reply by EMC2 on
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They fixed the question Seema, I took that first screenshot when I did the survey and the second some days later.
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I’ve just completed the survey. Have to say, I can’t see what relevance questions on ethnicity and sexual identity have to do with a questionnaire on whether the council should provide a level of waste collection and recycling that, at least until recently, most people would have regarded as an absolute basic level of local government service in return for their payment of Council Tax.
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I must agree that the 14 final questions – literally half of the questionnaire – that have nothing to do with the research will be a massive barrier to engagement. How many people will just close their browser tab in bored frustration? Does the council take *any* advice on how to encourage engagement in online surveys? I'll start: half the survey questions having little to do with the survey will result in fewer people completing the survey.
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You don't have to do the survey, full stop. But my point was that if the council want people to give their opinions to help shape policy, making the experience onerous impacts engagement negatively. I don't think that's hugely controversial.
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Like an interview on Newsnight right?
All consultations must include the equalities questions.
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Seema — What on earth does knowing if I’m straight/gay/trans/any other variation have to do with any views I might have on rubbish and recycling collection? Disability or age could be very important, if they have an impact on ability to, say, sort recycling or move wheelie bins, but gender orientation or ethnic identity….?
And, on the latter particularly, if the council want to show “consultation” with the whole gamut of the borough’s diverse range of ethnic groups, then perhaps making the questionnaire available online in multiple languages might be a good start.
As it is, given the council’s track record on other “consultations” (Black Boy Lane renaming, LTNs, etc), it’s not hard to foresee that this is just a figleaf exercise before rubbish collection is reduced to once every three weeks, garden waste removal is relegated to an expensive occasional pick-up, Veolia refuse to empty any bin with less than 30 litres of rubbish/recycling in or that hasn’t been hauled out onto the pavement to save them the bother of doing some actual work, and street cleaning is only scheduled when people complain loudly enough about grime on the pavements or rubbish in the gutters. Still, the “consultation” box will have been ticked, won’t it?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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For a few years in the last century I was a solicitor. So I was once able to intervene in a council discussion with Veolia reps. They were claiming that collecting and returning waste bins to the pavement outside homes fulfilled their contractual obligation to collect to and from the "curtilage" of properties. They accepted that legally this was not the case.
Plainly it could save time for the staff. I pointed out that it could also mean bins partially blocked pavements. That passers-by might add stuff and fill them up. Or contaminate recycling bins. Or be an obstacle for people with disabilities; or parents pushing buggies etc.
It's over twenty years since I could afford my first digital camera. And became one of many people who sent in thousands of photos of dumping to the Council. I started a regular online photoblog with my comments and suggestions for improvement.
For several years some unknown senior people in Haringey blocked staff from viewing my photos. I preferred to believe they were dinosaurs who were frightened of the 21st century. But it may have been far simpler: shame.
Whatever the reasons I remain dubious about changes which permit or implicitly encourage leaving waste on public streets or other land. We saw this with the failure of litter bins and the timed bag collections. Both examples of well intentioned "initiatives" which had the unintended consequence of "redefining" public space as official waste collection areas.
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Alan — Certainly, in Camden, Veolia refuse to a) empty any wheelie bins that aren’t on the pavement, obstructing pedestrians exactly as you say, b) empty any recycling bin where the lid is open because of the amount of contents or where excess material (even neatly-folded cardboard) has been stacked next to it. The aim of the contract appears to be to get paid for doing as little as possible, so presumably this is what we can expect once the Haringey contract gets renewed and the council go for the rock-bottom cheapest deal instead of one that looks after residents.
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Maybe this is the one of the other boroughs who, as Haringey tells us, they have explored "initiatives". Perhaps the forthcoming end of the waste contract has nudged the senior staff in charge of waste collection to consider a consortium approach with other boroughs? I hear a new Haringey Director with responsibility for Waste has been appointed. Maybe when she/he arrives they will take residents into their confidence?
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I wouldn't hold your breath.
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