Saving money

Difficult financial times sometimes demand difficult decisions to be made in order to save money. As the recession bites, the number of examples will become more but for now it seems to be Wyre Forest District Council that is at the top of the list – the council carried out a review on refuse and recycling collections in the district in a bid to save cash and now bin men in Wyre Forest will work four days a week instead of five.

Nothing particularly remarkable about that, it will happen everywhere in the coming months, but one or two issues must be considered.

Wyre is also to amend clinical waste collections, in line with other collections, to a fortnightly service. That seems entirely logical since in these difficult times everyone will have to ‘do their bit’ in reducing costs. However, storage of clinical and of sanitary/offensive wastes can be problematic. Space may not be available for the bulky and often wet wastes. Odours may be a particular problem, yet if wastes are stored outside – not an option for those in flats and maisonettes, or for others without a garden or back yard – smell and pest nuisance will be reported soon enough.

While cuts are being implemented, some reduction in litter services will be inevitable. Wyre Council has an unenviable record that, with others, it operates a tardy needle and drug litter retrieval service that places the onus on finders to pick up needles themselves, keeping them safe for later collection. Though Wyre give some basic safety instruction this DIY approach places individuals at risk and puts the Council in jeopardy of a claim for damages; it is simply not possible to tell individuals to handle hazardous waste items and not face liability for damages when it all goes wrong!

If those litter picking and in particular the needle retrieval services are to be reduced in line with other cuts, this DIY approach to hazardous waste management will become more common. Why bother, when it’s too expensive? And how long before someone suffers an avoidable sharps injury?

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