Thursday, 22 November 2018

Three weeks in and bin collections are still in chaos in Barnet

Remember this election promise from May?
It's just as well I am not the sort of person to get bored doing repetetive tasks, because cataloging the failures of Barnet Council can be rather tedious. Back in May, our Conservative Councillors were very keen to tell us that they knew how to run Bin collections

This morning,  when I nipped down to get my morning bagels, I was yet again asked about the bin chaos, I was reminded to see what the council had to say. Once more they have issued another press release. The text is pretty much the same as the last one. Back in the 1990's when Manchester City FC were languishing in the third tier of the League, I used to stand on the terraces and join in the chant of "We're $H1T and we know we are" whilst waiving inflatable banana's at the likes of York City FC. The latest press release  is pretty much a refinement of that chant.

Barnet’s new recycling and waste collection days began earlier this month. Please see below for our latest service update.



*THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER, 10.15AM*
We are continuing to work hard to complete all collections on their new scheduled collection days.
We are now in the third week of the new schedules, meaning our crews are working on their new rounds for the third time, and are still familiarising themselves with the roads and routes involved.
Whilst collections are progressing well in some areas, we are focusing on other areas where more work is required to ensure collections go smoothly.
Any collections not completed are being prioritised this week.
If your bin has not been emptied as scheduled, please leave it at the boundary of your property and we will collect it as soon as we can. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

 The difference between being a football fan and a Barnet resident is that you don't have to watch a team playing rubbish football if you don't want to. It is elective masochism. Sadly you have no choice about rubbish collections. If your rubbish collections are rubbish, then it is quite simple. You are lumbered. Council tax is a very inequitable tax. If you decide to order your weekly shop from Ocado and they don't deliver, you don't have to pay. If Barnet Council don't collect your rubbish, you still pay exactly the same as the bloke in Hampstead Garden Suburb who has had an uninterrupted service.

It is quite unbelieveable that it didn't occur to anyone at the council that it would take crews time to learn new rounds. It is clear that minimal planning was put into the changeover. Not being a bin round specialist, I have no idea whether this could have been introduced in a phased manner, with overtime planned until the new rounds were bedded in. What I do know is that there is a cavalier attitude at the Council which just says "It's only the public F*** them" in relation to such hassles for neighbours.

Here are a few tweets I've seen on the subject





But you will be pleased to know that our intrepid Tory Councillors are on the case!

11 hours ago
Don't we all? It's just teething troubles nothing more sinister than that

So if your bin hasn't been collected since the 5th November and is full up, don't worry, it's just teething problems

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