Doorstep rubbish collections scrapped after 130 years

Doorstep rubbish collections have been scrapped in Britain for the first time since they were introduced more than 130 years ago.



Rossendale council in Lancashire has stopped the service for hundreds of residents in rural areas who now have to drive or carry their rubbish down narrow country lanes to "collection points" up to a mile away from their homes.

Campaigners accused the council of using the tough economic climate as "an excuse to cut a basic service offered by any civilised society".

They fear it will set a precedent which will be followed by other councils across the country, dealing another blow to regular refuse collections.

The move comes as new figures show that, for the first time, more than half of all homes throughout the UK have fortnightly instead of weekly waste collections.

Research by The Sunday Telegraph shows that three out of five councils operate fortnightly rounds, affecting 13.71 million households – just over 50 per cent of all homes.

Doretta Cocks, founder of the Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection, said she feared that more weekly collections would be cut after local elections next spring.

She described the cuts in Rossendale as "the beginning of the end" for doorstep collections.

The council has stopped collecting rubbish from nearly 700 rural households. Instead they have to take their refuse to 100 "collection points", some as far as a mile from their home.

The measure will save the council £92,000 by scrapping two small bin lorries which can cope with the narrow roads.

Mrs Cocks said: "This is the first case we have heard of in this country where doorstep collections have been scrapped and people are forced to walk or drive up to a mile from their homes with their bin bags. It is disgrace."

Residents in the rural Lancashire borough have reacted furiously to the change.

They have lodged a complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman claiming that the council failed to carry out a proper consultation before announcing the change, and may seek a judicial review. More than 1,000 people have also signed a petition aimed at forcing the council to reverse its decision.

The new system, introduced this month, means that large piles of rubbish bags left at roadsides overnight for early morning collections will be attacked by foxes, badgers and other animals, leaving refuse strewn over the road, residents say.

There are also concerns that the waste poses a health and safety risk, especially to children and the elderly, and will deter tourists from an area popular with walkers and horse-riders.