Birmingham City Council has confirmed that residents living in hilly neighbourhoods of Birmingham won’t be able to opt out of the city’s new controversial wheelie bin scheme. Instead of being able to opt out, the council will decide which homes are unsuitable for wheelie bins and still need to use the current black sacks scheme. Councillor Jon Hunt who represents the steep inclines of Perry Barr warned the authority that they would be bombarded with appeals if the bins were imposed on voters in his area.
The Liberal Democrat group deputy leader said: “Our surveys in Perry Barr show householders continue to be divided about whether they want wheelie bins” and suggested the majority are still opposed to using them. The findings don’t come as a surprise when so many houses in the area are built up steps and hillsides. Some people have spent thousands of pounds to dig small parking areas out of the hillsides for vehicles and will be unhappy to park their wheelie bins in those spaces.
Some residents have steep sloping drives up to their houses and won’t be able to manoeuvre a wheelie bin up them. On the other hand, many claim it is easier to manoeuvre a bin with wheels up and down a slope than it is to carry heavy sacks of rubbish. Councillor Jon Hunt predicted as many as one in five households in his ward will complain along with people in other hilly spots such as Bordesley Green, Quinton and Handsworth Wood. A council street survey concluded that 2 to 7% of homes in those areas were rated unsuitable for wheelie bins. However, almost 20% of those who signed up for Birmingham’s £35 green waste collections opted for sacks instead of a wheelie bin.