Laura Cummings: Bin collection cuts a smart move or a load of rubbish?

MAGGOT infestations, rubbish overflowing on to the streets, wheelie bins being stolen and bin men being attacked - the litany of problems being laid at the door of fortnightly rubbish collections seems endless.

Nevertheless, council leaders in the Capital are ready to hold their noses and take the plunge by following 19 other local authorities in Scotland and getting rid of the weekly bin round.

The proposal has sparked controversy across the city, and if experiences elsewhere are anything to go by it seems there may well be good reason to be concerned.

Among the other councils in Scotland to move to a fortnightly bin collection was Aberdeen City Council, which decided to empty most residents' bins every two weeks, instead of on a weekly basis, in May this year..

Aberdeen City Council Labour group secretary, Willie Young, says: "People in Aberdeen are disgruntled with the fortnightly service, it hasn't worked for us. There's more litter on the streets from overflowing bins. The seagulls have a field day, they have a free lunch because of all the stuff that's lying about.

"I fear for the people of Edinburgh, because it hasn't worked for us and I can't see it working for them."

However, overflowing bins and a greater presence of seagulls seem a far cry from the problems experienced by residents south of the Border, where reductions in wheelie bin collections have been made.

An unprecedented demand for the waste containers proved so great in England that it sparked a black market, with thousands of the bins stolen and then sold back to desperate homeowners for as much as 80.

Peterborough City Council had almost 900 wheelie bins taken between 2008 and 2009, while thousands also went missing in Manchester, Cambridge and Central Bedfordshire.

Bin men in England also suffered more than three attacks a week by householders angry at rubbish collection cutbacks.

The 160 assaults on bin men took place during a 12-month period to autumn last year and included three incidents in which guns were brandished at workers and one which ended with a victim being stabbed.

North of the Border, residents in Perth and Kinross have experienced different problems with the fortnightly collections of household waste.

"We were absolutely horrified because we discovered we had maggots in the bin," explains Liz Blackley, 55, who lives in Perth.

"When you opened the bin, the maggots were actually round the lid, which wasn't nice. We still don't like the fortnightly collections and there's only two people in our house. You can imagine what it is like for bigger families."

Problems with maggots forced many residents in the area to fork out more cash for a private company to clean their bins.

Renfrewshire Council, which introduced fortnightly collections last September, says it has seen fly-tipping increasing as a result.

Labour councillor for Paisley East and Ralston, Jim Sharkey, adds: "Bins are remaining just as full now and during the summer you can imagine how that smells."

Perhaps the most damning evidence of how the changes have been received across the UK, however, are statistics which show the number of councils that have reverted to weekly collections following either unsuccessful trials or fully implemented fortnightly collections.

A total of 16 local authorities across Britain have returned to weekly collections, including Leeds City Council, Southampton City Council and East Dunbartonshire Council, with two more reverting to weekly collections for summer months only.

Southampton City Council, which previously tested fortnightly collections in parts of the town, ended its trial and reverted to weekly collections after it "didn't go down too well with residents", according to a council spokesman. Weekly rubbish collections were also reinstated by East Dunbartonshire Council after the issue dominated the local authority elections in May 2007.

The decision to move to fortnightly refuse collections caused a revolt in the area, with petitions and websites created as part of a campaign to reverse the decision.

So, with maggots, rats, an increase in fly-tipping and smelly, overflowing bins all common problems associated with the reduction in bin collections, what exactly are the benefits, if any, of such a change?

Edinburgh City Council estimates that it will save around 900,000, as well as leading to a significant increase in recycling rates.

Council leader Jenny Dawe comments: "It is important that it is looked at in the context of improved recycling. There has been an increase in means of disposing of items, so that means people have less to put in their bins."

Her view seems to be supported by the achievements of West Lothian Council, which introduced fortnightly bin collections in 2003.

In June this year, the local authority achieved its goal of diverting 40 per cent of waste from landfill - a target that it reached 12 months early.

West Lothian's executive councillor for the environment, Robert De Bold, says: "In 2003 there was some public upset about it going to fortnightly, but that disappeared quite quickly and it was quite surprising how it was readily accepted by residents and how well they took to it."

However, Doretta Cocks, founder of the Campaign for Weekly Waste, which has nearly 30,000 members across the UK, warned that Edinburgh's beauty would be blighted if the plans were given the green light.

"The first thing I thought when I heard about the proposal was 'another beautiful city ruined'. I envisage so many problems in Edinburgh - rubbish will be left in piles, fly-tipping will increase and it will have a serious impact on cleanliness."

While it's hard to dispute the environmental benefits of fortnightly collections, it remains to be seen how the changes will go down in the Capital. Residents can only hope they're not plagued by overflowing bins and maggots like many people across the UK.

WASTE AWARE

227,231 tonnes of waste were thrown out by city households last year

31 per cent of that waste was recycled

70 per cent of household waste is the national recycling target within 15 years

5,500 complaints a year are received about the council's recycling services

430 worth of food is thrown away every year by the average Scots household