I am grateful for the letter in this week s Post about wheelie bins from Mrs Bell and Mrs Hopkins of Martin Road Dagenham. The main reasons for the bins being forced onto the public of Barking and Dagenham, is to make the residents sort their rubbish to s

I am grateful for the letter in this week's Post about wheelie bins from Mrs Bell and Mrs Hopkins of Martin Road Dagenham.

The main reasons for the bins being forced onto the public of Barking and Dagenham, is to make the residents sort their rubbish to save others doing it, to stop so called, tearing of bags by birds rats dogs etc., to make collection easier and to provide an accurate way of registering the quantity of rubbish from each property. These may or may not be effective, and I have commented on them all in previous correspondence.

May I comment as follows:-

1. Terrace houses, of which the majority of the borough consists, have no alternative but to drag their bins through the house or store them in the front garden. A choice which many refuse to do, and therefore will not take possession of the bins, ever.

2. Many Dagenham homes have shared front paths to their homes which will mean at least four bins on what art narrow paths anyway.

3. The previous system of black and orange sacks worked very well and was much quicker and easier for the refuse men to operate, as they did not have to return the bins, as they are supposed to do now.

4. The question of bags tearing or being 'ripped' open is easily dealt with, as many have found, by the use of disinfectant and double wrapping.

5. The bins are the property of the local authority, and as such should be covered by the LBB&D insurance. They are not, and if a member of the public has an accident with a bin that has been left on the pavement, or has fallen over across the pavement, then the property owner, or tenant is responsible for any claim arising there from, which could run into a very large sum indeed. Every resident needs to check their household insurance to see if they are covered. Many will be surprised at the result. My wife, who is registered blind, nearly fell over a bin which had been left dangerously across the pavement by a careless person.

Whose responsibility are the bins, cleaning, replacing etc. at whose cost?

It is not true that you must have these bins. The chief executive has made a public commitment for any resident in the borough to continue to use the black sacks, albeit you will have to supply your own sacks.

Finally, as I stated in the Post recently, the figures quoted are not correct, and as I said the interpolation of the results of the pilot schemes will give no more than about 45% of the borough which may be satisfied. This means that over 50% are dissatisfied.

Having lived in Barking for over 50 yrs, and as a public figure in the town I am always moving with the times, but do consider the bins deter from our wonderful town, and the sooner people see through the failed arguments put up by others, the sooner we can all get on with our lives. 'Love these bins', my dear ladies never.

Martyn J Fisher

BARKING