Only Burnley Borough Council could be so daft.

Well just heard that the dustbins are being emptied if your day is Wednesday. While I am pleased for those who will receive the service if they have their bins emptied the latter part of the week, it seems that those who usually have bins emptied on Monday and Tuesdays are being discriminated against on this occasion and are to be left high and dry for the three weeks. Hardly fair is it?

[Quazi Washboard]

Originally Posted by Nessie

Well just heard that the dustbins are being emptied if your day is Wednesday. While I am pleased for those who will receive the service if they have their bins emptied the latter part of the week, it seems that those who usually have bins emptied on Monday and Tuesdays are being discriminated against on this occasion and are to be left high and dry for the three weeks. Hardly fair is it?

The Council will probably tell you that if you wait a few years when Christmas day falls on a Wednesday, then those who's emptying day is on that day will have to wait, and it will all even itself out.
They are polititians after all and are quite well rehearsed at weedling out on basic human rights.

[dellym]

my bin day is tuesday and according to the leaflet my grandma got, our bins will be emptied next tuesday. Im now collecting in bin bags which seems silly as we have the now extinct brown garden bins which wouldnt be emptied if i used that!!

[grannyclaret]

twas on a monday morning the bin men came to call ,,it reminds me of that old song about the gas man ,and it all makes work for the working man to do ,or in burnleys case the opposite , lol

i think the main problem is the number of bank holidays. biffa just wont pay out that much in wages.

Wonder if the contract is available online for the general public to see? :D
Seems we will be in the same boat next year as well.

[Robert]

Its about time someone took a good look at the council budget when it comes round again (is it April?) and sort it out instead of letting the usual councillors vote through everything. The problem is that its complicated, maybe the people of this town should appoint and pay for our own accountant to look at the books then send OUR recommendations to the council?

[takersbabe]

my rubbish is ridiculous all in my back garden atm when they do eventually come there will be loads

[Quazi Washboard]

Originally Posted by Robert

Its about time someone took a good look at the council budget when it comes round again (is it April?) and sort it out instead of letting the usual councillors vote through everything. The problem is that its complicated, maybe the people of this town should appoint and pay for our own accountant to look at the books then send OUR recommendations to the council?

Now that sounds like a good idea.

[Robert]

Our council tax goes to waist and if everyone threw a tenner into a pile it wouldn't take long to employ one. I'm sure then there'll be a councillor or group/party in the chambers that would listen to us and put forward our motions for ammendments. Also we'd be able to here first hand from the accountant what the council tax is being used on and I'd expect a few surprises which should ensure Caddy goes the same way as Blunkett!

[Quazi Washboard]

Originally Posted by Robert

Our council tax goes to waist and if everyone threw a tenner into a pile it wouldn't take long to employ one. I'm sure then there'll be a councillor or group/party in the chambers that would listen to us and put forward our motions for ammendments. Also we'd be able to here first hand from the accountant what the council tax is being used on and I'd expect a few surprises which should ensure Caddy goes the same way as Blunkett!

We could even put the accountant forward as the peoples representetive and make him sign an agreement not to make a move without a public vote on the matter.

Has anyone seen tonights Telegraph?
Even the Mayor of Burnley has been kicking off because her rubbish hasn't been taken away for three weeks. The man in charge of waste collections has issued an apology and promised it won't happen again. As mentioned earlier, they're blaming the entire screw up on the days that the bank holidays fall, which I don't really understand. When I ask my boss if I can have any bank holiday off, he says "Does this look like a bank?" Refuse collectors don't work for a bank so why do they get a bank holiday?

What do you bet that one of the small Biffa vans goes out and collects the Mayors rubbish? The queues at the tip today were snaked well up to the road as people tried to get rid of their excess black bin bags. Does the promise mean we will get a collection next Monday after all I wonder?

[wayneyboy1942]

As someone who has to work bank holidays as my job is a 365day public service. I think it's stupid for the bins to get so much time off, it's part of some jobs that you will have to work on days others have off.but you must keep a service going even if it's only a skelleton staff.Bet it was done to save money on extra bankholiday pay

Think you are right Waneyboy, there are many people who work over Bank Holidays or we would not have electricity, gas, water, telephones or emergency treatment at hospitals. Then there are the carers in our homes and hospitals, all unsung heros who just get on with the job in hand.
My gripe is with the Borough Council, not Biffa or the workers they employ. I with all the other households in the town pay our community charge to the council, therefore it is their responsibility to ensure the services we pay for are provided. Blaming Biffa is a cop-out, apparently the majority of councillors were not involved or knew what was about to happen to a fifth of the households in the town over the holiday period.
I trust this is not the end of the issue and that the councillors and officers concerned are held accountable for the fiasco.