Wheelie bin pilot scheme also a step closer
Merton residents are to be offered free bulky waste collections - instead of the current £20 minimum fee.
The new environmental initiative means that November 1, the borough’s residents will be able to book a free collection of up to five items once every three months.
The free collection includes fridges and freezers, which currently cost £12.50 each.
There will be a minimum fee of £10 for additional items covering up to three extra items, with £4 charged for the ninth item and each thereafter.
To take advantage of the free collection service, residents must be up to date with council tax payments. To book a collection, ring 0208-274-4902.
Merton Council is also a step closer to rolling out the first phase of its wheelie bin pilot as cabinet agreed the initial proposals on Monday. The final decision will be taken at a full council meeting on November 24.
If agreed at full council, the pilot would start in May 2011 and give 20,000 households in selected roads across the borough the opportunity to try out wheelie bins and feed back their experience to the council. Each household is proposed to be given two bins - one for dry recyclable materials and one for landfill rubbish.
The new pilot would enable householders to store their rubbish and recyclables outside the home, but in a concealed, dry container. This would help remove the risk of black bags being torn by pests such as foxes, something that can cause rubbish to be spilled onto streets.
Merton Council deputy leader Councillor Mark Betteridge said: "We want to invest in wheeled bins to help clean up our streets and save money in the long term. Many of our streets suffer from the effects of rubbish from torn black bags and secure bins would play a big part in tackling this.
"Evidence from our neighbouring boroughs of Kingston and Sutton shows the introduction of wheeled bins has led to increases in the level of recycling. If we carry on sending the same amount of waste to landfill, Merton could face a 2010 tax bill of £2.6million, and that will only increase. As a council, we have responsibility to provide our residents with environmentally and financially sustainable ways of dealing with their waste, and wheeled bins are a big part of this."
October 13, 2010