'Swopped' Wheelie Bins Cost Ealing Council £88,000

Local Lib Dem councillors say extra costs were incurred as residents replaced bins

It has been revealed that more than 3,000 people asked for a bin of a different size costing Ealing Council £88,000 to exchange them when the controversial scheme was introduced last year.

In the Southfield Focus newsletter, the Lib Dems said : "As many residents know, wheelie bins were introduced last summer. Only now, are we getting information on some of the costs involved in the process. Recent information shows that across Ealing Borough over three thousand residents exchanged bins. This cost that the Council paid was £88,000.''

Councillor Andrew Steed said: "We were critical of many aspects of the process. Accordingly we were contacted by many Southfield residents unhappy with the size of bin and the difficulties they experienced in trying to obtain smaller or larger bins.

"If the initial offer to residents had been more honest as to exactly what was available, and the Council had responded with greater flexibility, the cost would have been far less"

The introduction of wheelie bins was unpopular and the Lib Dem Councillors identified 420 problems found in 100 streets. The issue of refuse collection and street cleaning remains problematic.

Councillor Gary Malcolm said then, "Ealing Council has never been very effective at keeping our streets clean but since wheelie bins came along, our streets look far worse. Since we reported more than 400 issues to the Council, many have been rectified, but long term they need to buck their ideas up."

Conservative councillor Greg Stafford also complained about the Labour-led council's move to a three-weekly clean and six-weekly deep clean of Ealing's streets.

18th January 2017