My solution to bin charge

Dear Editor

The brown bin charge is understandably annoying many residents. According to Stirling Council’s own website on March 3, all food waste is recycled to provide compost or green energy for homes and businesses.

How is this done? Is this done for profit? What does the council actually do with the garden waste uplifted along with food waste in one bin? Is this too composted and possibly sold on. If so, why are we being asked to pay for its collection? Will there now be two bin lorries for brown bin pick up - one for food waste only and one for mixed? Otherwise it is pointless as it all becomes one big mix anyway.

We will not be paying this charge. We will invest the money in a small compost bin to put next to the long row of council bins which we are lucky enough to have room for.

We will also no longer be clearing the leaves from the trees lining our street which regularly block the drains. The trees are lovely to have but it should not be up to the residents to half fill their bins with green waste not of their own making.

Many folk will not have space for a compost bin and will have already lost a fair amount of garden space to bin and box storage. No matter. The box will go soon too apparently, when the bottle deposit scheme is introduced for single use bottles. Never mind all the jam jars, sauce jars etc. that also go in there.

We will never be out of our cars heading to the glass recycling bank or to the council tip creating more problems for the climate.

The sum of £35 may not seem a lot to the council when explained in weekly terms but folk are not being asked to pay it weekly. They are being asked to find the extra equivalent of a good part of many people’s weekly food bill at a time of one of the biggest health and financial crises for a generation. Think again Stirling Council!

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