"A goodwill gesture"

Posted By: Susan Emmott
Date Posted: 21/06/2007

Well, the fortnightly bin collection in Heywood seems to go from bad to worse. More and more cases of utter chaos have been emerging as the week has progressed.

As reported in my previous diary, many Heywood households received the wrong leaflet with the wrong calendar (and it was a lot more than 200!), some people left out their recyclables and they just did not get collected, some people who were on the assisted collection scheme did not get their bins emptied and some people who did actually get their recyclables collected were not left with the blue bag to put their paper in for the next collection – including myself!!! – You would have thought that with all the stink I’ve kicked up about this issue, they would have at least got it right at my address!

But, the absolute classic concerns 22 households in the Heady Hill area of Heywood. These people were given no calendar whatsoever nor were they given a blue bin for recycling, so they were not even aware the fortnightly bin collection scheme was coming to them! So obviously, like good citizens who pay their Council Tax, they left their normal green bins out for collection – and hey presto! - their bins were left un-emptied. How on Earth could they have left recyclables in the blue bins and bags if they had not been issued with them?

One resident of Heady Hill rang up the Council’s Environmental Services and was told by a lady to sort it out for himself! And the gentleman in question quite rightly asks, “What do I pay my Council Tax for?”

However, after contacting their West Heywood Labour Councillors, these residents finally got their bins emptied on Saturday – 3 days after they should have been collected. I just wonder how much the overspend will be on this debacle in Heywood, after it already lost £109,000 in the Pennines?

But wait ……… you’ve not heard the best………

Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Wera Hobhouse said of these 22 households, “There were 22 bins collected from Heady Hill on Saturday as a goodwill gesture” (Heywood Advertiser 21st June)

“A goodwill gesture” – as if somehow it was the fault of the residents! It was her department that was responsible for the mistake in the first place and she should have been humble enough to admit it. People pay their Council Tax and they expect a decent service for their money.

It is just as well that the residents of the borough don’t think that paying their Council Tax is a “goodwill gesture”.