Hot TOPICS 
TWO new 1100l bins added after VFW's Carboard City pressure
(March 22, 2010)CAMPAIGNER Paul Macdonald has found that hitting the right buttons
can show it is not a waste of time contacting Wiltshire Council about
hot topics in Warminster as two new recycling bins have been added
within days.
"One week after hitting the buttons on my computer keyboard to
send a message to their website about a mini recycling problem I have
had a very positive response," said Paul (see hot topic- Cardboard City
14 March)
"It was an issue people were complaining that councillors were not doing anything about despite repeated representations.
"The elected members may be in some eyes a waste of time but the
'issues reporting area' at the county council website is definitely not
rubbish."
An e-mail from a member of the
recycling team at county hall has shown an immediate response to the
complaint of overflowing recycling bins in Warminster town centre.
'This servicing schedule has
been increased in recent times to respond to the popularity of the
service and the amount of materials collected,' writes a council staff
member.
'However, we understand that at some of the busiest mini recycling sites there is still problems with over spilling plastic and cardboard containers, especially on a Monday mornings.
'To relieve this problem we have increased the servicing schedule ensure both plastic and cardboard containers are emptied on a Saturday, leaving bins completely empty for Saturday afternoon and Sunday.'
Site Visit
'Following
your complaint, the operational supervisor from Hills and I have
visited the site as (sic) assess the problems further. It is clear at
this particular site that there is not enough containers on site to
cope with the materials that are being collected.
'Hence why bins are overflowing and the area becomes quickly untidy.
'As
a result we have added two extra 1100ltr wheeled bins to the site, one
for plastic bottles and one for Cardboard, this extra capacity should
ensure all materials are contained in bins rather than on the floor.
'We
have also requested that the bins which have broken lids are repaired
or replaced to ensure the materials cannot blow out of the bins easily.
The operational supervisors will continue to monitor the site to assess
the impact of these additional containers.
'With
reference to the litter and fly tipping on site. Wiltshire Council
operate a cleansing schedule of all the mini recycling sites in
Wiltshire, which includes visiting and cleaning Warminster Central car
park once a week.
'I
am currently liaising with a colleague to assess the possibility of
extending this schedule to include visiting the site more often. This
should avoid a build up of litter and fly tipping and improve the
aesthetics of the area.
Paul had
another positive suggestion. He asked that information boards be
provided showing where alternative sites were available if a site was
full.
'As
suggested some signage on the site would undoubtedly help to tackle
these problems. Artwork for signage on all of Wiltshire mini recycling
sites has very recently been agreed, and therefore we will look at
rolling this signage out to Warminster Central car park very soon,' the
council e-mail concluded.