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Bromley Council to charge £2 for food caddy liners from Friday

10:57am Tuesday 19th April 2011 in Green Guardian By David Mills

Households needing extra rolls of caddy liners can pick them up for £2 from libraries across Bromley Households needing extra rolls of caddy liners can pick them up for £2 from libraries across Bromley

BROMLEY Council is introducing a £2 charge for food recycling bags at libraries across the borough.

Households are currently issued with an annual supply of two rolls, each containing 50 compostable caddy liners, but from Friday, anyone requiring extra bags will now need to pay £2 per roll to meet supply costs.

The council estimates last month around 10,000 visits were made to libraries to pick up the bags, which have been available free of charge.

Portfolio holder for environment Councillor Colin Smith said: “Our cost of £2 per roll significantly undercuts the rather ambitious prices charged by local supermarkets and is designed to cover the additional costs of the liners.

“Please continue to consider that home composting is still the best form of recycling, likewise that newspaper or magazines can also be used to wrap food waste for recycling where residents find it convenient to do so.”

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Comments(39)

typecastboy says...
12:42pm Tue 19 Apr 11

I wondered how long it would take them. I'll be going in the library today then to stock up.

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jaydon says...
1:02pm Tue 19 Apr 11

What a conn.Bromely council are not to be trusted. Perhaps we should form a cooperative waste collection scheme and manage it ourselves, I'm sure we could do a better job!

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LOLA2903 says...
1:05pm Tue 19 Apr 11

Dont waste your money! Most supermarket bags are bio degradeable these days. I have been using Tescos bags for ages and they always take them!

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GODUPERE2 says...
1:09pm Tue 19 Apr 11

"Luckily " I live next to a landfill site , so I just throw my waste over the fence.

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Invicta58 says...
2:03pm Tue 19 Apr 11

And equally unfortunate that Bromley's website also fails to mention 100 free bags are issued each year, or the new £2 charge for additional ones.

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Sthlndlad_BB84 says...
2:05pm Tue 19 Apr 11

If you live in certain streets in Orpington the Food Waste does not get collected, so what is the point! I put my box out for a couple of weeks and it was not collected. When the box was full i then had to ring the council who assured me that if i put the recepticle with my normal weekly rubbish it would be collect - it has not been! I continued to use the Food Waste box for just under a month, when the box was full i again rang the council asking for this to be collected as this had again been ignored by the collection team. Nobody else in my street appears to have or use a Food Waste box, so I have given up. My food waste now just goes into the usual black sacks. Although, as I live on a one way street, more or less on the High Street, my street often gets forgotten when it comes to waste collections any way! It is just as well i do not create that much waste as i have got fed up with ringing Bromley Council and asking them to come and collect it!

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goldenbroomboy says...
2:55pm Tue 19 Apr 11

I find Cllr Smith's comments regarding newspaper interesting, since I was told off by an official from Bromley Council for using old newspaper to wrap food waste.

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Tmcd says...
3:15pm Tue 19 Apr 11

I actually cannot believe thay are going to be doing this. they push through all these rules to encourage people to recycle and then when they do they charge them for what seems to be "over recycling". if someone needs over 100 bags a year then great, its showing that that person is recycling well. if i am going to be charged to recycle and charged to not recycle then I would rather just take the lazy (and less stinky) way and put it all in a black bag.

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Sevenoaks says...
3:46pm Tue 19 Apr 11

What is the more environmental friendly? - putting kitchen waste in the recycle bin or putting it into the kitchen waste disposal unit and flushing it away?

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jan13she says...
3:52pm Tue 19 Apr 11

You can stuff your bags where the sun dont shine Bromley Council, I shall now be using supermarket carrier bags. Bloody conning lot that you are.

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jan13she says...
3:53pm Tue 19 Apr 11

You can stuff your bags where the sun dont shine Bromley Council, I shall now be using supermarket carrier bags. Bloody conning lot that you are.p.s. newsshopper there is nothing wrong with what I have put here. Its my FREE OPINION

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Angela M says...
4:06pm Tue 19 Apr 11

We don't get free bags at all in our borough. I buy food waste bags from Wilko's (I use two every week), and it's worth it to not have rotting food waste in my kitchen bin.

This bloated sense of entitlement astonishes me. Why should you get free food bags? Does your council also provide rubbish bags for all of your household bins? Just think of all the smelly rotten food going into mixed landfills, causing gas pockets and making the workers' lives so much worse. Just because people don't want to pay 30p a month.

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shazza678 says...
4:27pm Tue 19 Apr 11

This is just the start what’s the betting we will soon be charged for the papers & plastic collection and then the bulky items. I thought the bags would be included with our council tax. I won’t be so keen to recycle all food items now.

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Stop Benefit Spongers says...
4:31pm Tue 19 Apr 11

Angela M,

We all use bin bags as a matter of course. However the council wants us to recycle. Its not our choice, so please dont bang on about entitlement. Also what about Bexley council, they also collect grass clippings and garden waste. They also supply wheelie bins for this purpose. At a time when money is short, its just another form of taxation.

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Prestbury says...
4:33pm Tue 19 Apr 11

Dont waste your money! Most supermarket bags are bio degradeable these days. I have been using Tescos bags for ages and they always take them!"

LOLA2903, ORPINGTON says...
1:05pm Tue 19 Apr 11

Lola im no scientist but even i know biodegradable doesn't mean compostable! Seriously look them both up!

I don't understand the mass uproar here. My black bag waste has dropped drastically because i recycle almost everything now so surely the money im not spending on black bags will just go on food bags instead????

Why does everyone want something for nothing nowadays?? Its your waste - either deal with it properly or generate less???

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Tmcd says...
4:37pm Tue 19 Apr 11

Angela M wrote:
We don't get free bags at all in our borough. I buy food waste bags from Wilko's (I use two every week), and it's worth it to not have rotting food waste in my kitchen bin. This bloated sense of entitlement astonishes me. Why should you get free food bags? Does your council also provide rubbish bags for all of your household bins? Just think of all the smelly rotten food going into mixed landfills, causing gas pockets and making the workers' lives so much worse. Just because people don't want to pay 30p a month.
Hi Angela M - in response to your post in regards to why we should get free food bags, it is not a bloated sense of entitlement its about actually getting a decent service that we pay for. our council tax is still the same yet they reduce the frequency of our collections. there is more that has been done but that is not a topic for this thread. basically all the council keeps doing is either reducing services or creating extra charges. All i can say is that I cannot wait until May 5th until we, the people of Bromley can do something about changing who runs our council. yes we are all in austerity but when everyone is struggling we should all not have to suffer to repay debts that were not ours. I mean, I dont see the council giving me money to help pay my debts?

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Bromley Council Environmental Services says...
5:09pm Tue 19 Apr 11

We know that residents will be interested in this and that’s why if you’re a Bromley resident, Bromley Council are supplying you with an annual supply of compostable liners and including a leaflet to explain what you can do if you run out. Deliveries are underway now.

We are also advertising the £2 charge for 50 additional liners in this week’s News Shopper. Please do not use plastic bags or biodegradable bags – they either do not compost or they compost very slowly and are not suitable for our scheme. You could use newspaper to wrap food and this is fine. If you have experienced a collection problem, please let us know as we want and need to resolve this asap.

Our contact details are available online at www.bromley.gov.uk/w
astenews and when we start selling the liners at cost prices, much cheaper than elsewhere, the information will be available on our site too.

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bizzymum says...
6:25pm Tue 19 Apr 11

As far as I understand it each household will receive the usual 100 free bags per year from the council. Currently anyone requiring more bags can pick up an additional roll from the library free of charge. The council says 10,000 people have visited libraries in the LAST MONTH to collect additional bags - that's a lot of bags!! So from now on they now plan to introduce a £2 charge to reduce the number of people who are the drain on already stretched resources. Each week my family re-cycles approx 2 bags of food waste and we are a family of 3. I know of one mum (with the same size family) who puts 3 times that amount in the bin. 6 bags of food waste? And she is a regular visitor to the library. If you buy so much food that you can afford to chuck it away then you can afford £2 if you want more bags. Sorry, this is yet another poorly reported NS story.

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Mr JH says...
7:10pm Tue 19 Apr 11

I have to stand up for Bromley Council here. As a family of four we re-cycle two bags of food waste a week. The collection of our food waste has been as regular as clockwork too. Instead of people moaning that they are going to have to pay a tiny charge for additional bags, why not look at ways to reduce the food waste in the first place. 100 free bags a year should suffice for an average family.

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beanie59 says...
9:57pm Tue 19 Apr 11

We were not supplied with two packs of bags in the first place, only one so r Bromley now going to give us two sets? I cannot believe that the council wants you to recycle but now wants to charge you for it as well, surely this should have been costed be4 it was rolled out. Bromley respond please!

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shazza678 says...
8:34am Wed 20 Apr 11

2 bags a week with summer coming. I for one would rather have a smelly bin then a smelly kitchen My £ children along with wife’s and 6 grandchildren come for dinner nearly every Sunday I can use 2 bags just with the fresh vegetables I use before the dinner is even cooked. The council estimates last month around 10,000 people got bags from local libraries double that and then how much extra are they receiving in revenue £20,000.

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GODUPERE2 says...
9:16am Wed 20 Apr 11

I went to Bromley Library the other day to locate my favourite book " Trainspotters Friend". After 2 hours queuing, I was told "sorry we are out of bags"! I am sure you can imagine my annoyance.

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???? says...
10:28am Wed 20 Apr 11

I live in greenwich. We do not get supplied with free bags. We do have a wheelie bin for the use of garden and food waste which is collected weekly. I do use compostable bags for my food waste caddy but you do not have to use these. food can be put straight in the wheelie bin along with grass cuttings, weeds etc or can be wrapped in newspaper.

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wes wickham says...
11:05am Wed 20 Apr 11

i just sling it all in the main bin we got 2 wheelie bins so theres no xtra charge for how many wheeli bins you use, but £10 to hand wash my motor each week in main road biggin hill garage is ok rubbish i think we pay enough tax as it is

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Marty1979 says...
11:13am Wed 20 Apr 11

Before Bromley council started collecting the food waste I put mine in a kitchen box with bag that I bought in Sainsburys - the bags look identical to those the council supply.
In my garden composter the bags do not completely disappear - even after a year there is still parts of the bag
But presumably the council's composter is better than domestic ones

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the wall says...
11:18am Wed 20 Apr 11

A whole £2 and people are moaning. Their life must be so fulfilled, that this is their only gripe.

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TroyMcClure says...
11:34am Wed 20 Apr 11

I don’t want to be the cause of any panic hoarding of the food recycling bags but there running out, there is a worldwide shortage (mainly due to the increase demand from India and China). Bromley Council will not admit it thought as they know what panic and angst it will cause.

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shazza678 says...
11:39am Wed 20 Apr 11

Marty1979 wrote:
Before Bromley council started collecting the food waste I put mine in a kitchen box with bag that I bought in Sainsburys - the bags look identical to those the council supply.
In my garden composter the bags do not completely disappear - even after a year there is still parts of the bag
But presumably the council's composter is better than domestic ones
It’s not about the £2 but the principle of a free service that was introduced and six months down the line we have to pay for it. Council tax may not have gone up this year as we have elections but this charge should be included in it

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Invicta58 says...
11:49am Wed 20 Apr 11

the wall wrote:
A whole £2 and people are moaning. Their life must be so fulfilled, that this is their only gripe.
"The Wall", no its not our only gripe -its just one of them !

There are millions of places across the web that people "gripe" so don't assume this story is the definitive place, or even our number one priority.

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InMHO says...
1:01pm Wed 20 Apr 11

What a load of whinging B'stards!!! Message to Bromley Council: Charge them more. Is this the most important thing in the lives of these residents? Line the caddy with newspaper for chrisakes and get a life while you are at it

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the wall says...
1:41pm Wed 20 Apr 11

Invicta58 wrote:
the wall wrote: A whole £2 and people are moaning. Their life must be so fulfilled, that this is their only gripe.
"The Wall", no its not our only gripe -its just one of them ! There are millions of places across the web that people "gripe" so don't assume this story is the definitive place, or even our number one priority.
Invicta58, Orpington - Do tell us all where these gripe site are. Also are you a top poster an any of them? Anyone thought of getting a worm farm ?

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Invicta58 says...
4:27pm Wed 20 Apr 11

Where do I start ? Just about every national newspaper, TV station, Watchdog, Consumer forums etc, Even you must think the web extends beyond the News Shopper, and no I'm not a top poster on any of them, just an occasional one here.

I do like the idea of a worm farm though and to Bromley's credit they do link to discounted worm farm offers on their website.

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Peony says...
9:27pm Wed 20 Apr 11

I personally think the new rubbish collection scheme is worth persevering with. The fact that potentially smelly food waste is now separated from the household rubbish collection and taken away each week and is stored in a FREE fox proof bin, can only be a good thing.
There is also the benefit of recycling all our plastics, glass, tins and paper.

If Bromley council are going to provide its residents with 100 free waste bags a year, I think it is only reasonable that anyone that wants to use more should pay for them.

I do suspect though that if greedy people had not abused the distribution of the free waste bags by hoarding them, Bromley would not now be resorting to charging for them.

The council managers who costed this new rubbish collection scheme obviously did not take into account how much dishonesty there is in this leafy borough. Mr. Cameron's Big Society stands no chance.

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the wall says...
10:40am Thu 21 Apr 11

Invicta58 wrote:
Where do I start ? Just about every national newspaper, TV station, Watchdog, Consumer forums etc, Even you must think the web extends beyond the News Shopper, and no I'm not a top poster on any of them, just an occasional one here. I do like the idea of a worm farm though and to Bromley's credit they do link to discounted worm farm offers on their website.
Invicta58 - Your telling me that there's more to life than the News Shopper website..... Well I never. How about a goat, they eat mostly everything. Then new web sites could be set up.
'ratemygoat.com' 'webuyanygoat.com' and 'goatfacebook'.

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GODUPERE2 says...
11:36am Thu 21 Apr 11

the wall wrote:
Invicta58 wrote: Where do I start ? Just about every national newspaper, TV station, Watchdog, Consumer forums etc, Even you must think the web extends beyond the News Shopper, and no I'm not a top poster on any of them, just an occasional one here. I do like the idea of a worm farm though and to Bromley's credit they do link to discounted worm farm offers on their website.
Invicta58 - Your telling me that there's more to life than the News Shopper website..... Well I never. How about a goat, they eat mostly everything. Then new web sites could be set up. 'ratemygoat.com' 'webuyanygoat.com' and 'goatfacebook'.
My wife eats mostly anything as well. Come to think of it shes on ratemygoat.com as well.

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Tmcd says...
11:55am Thu 21 Apr 11

the wall wrote:
Invicta58 wrote: Where do I start ? Just about every national newspaper, TV station, Watchdog, Consumer forums etc, Even you must think the web extends beyond the News Shopper, and no I'm not a top poster on any of them, just an occasional one here. I do like the idea of a worm farm though and to Bromley's credit they do link to discounted worm farm offers on their website.
Invicta58 - Your telling me that there's more to life than the News Shopper website..... Well I never. How about a goat, they eat mostly everything. Then new web sites could be set up. 'ratemygoat.com' 'webuyanygoat.com' and 'goatfacebook'.
webuyanygoat.com - that did make me ROFL! thank you The Wall. I can picture the advert as we speak. "enter your goat number now"!

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Jim-_- says...
2:04pm Thu 21 Apr 11

As a regular visitor to the library I have seen the Staff be treated very unfairly by people coming in for these bags. By all means complain if you want to but please spare a thought for the poor staff who have no control over the matter but are looked upon and spoken to as if they have put the prices up themselves. I feel they have enough to worry about with the cuts coming later this year.

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Holey Moley says...
2:25pm Thu 21 Apr 11

Let's do the maths shall we. If you use four bags a week, your free bags will last 25 weeks. That means you need to find bags for the other 27 weeks of the year. Let's assume you're on holiday for two weeks, so you'll need another 100 bags at a cost of £4.

That's less than 8p a week for the year!

You'll find that down the back of your sofa.

Surely cutting down on landfill is worth 8p a week? Rest assured, if we don't reduce our landfill waste our council tax will soar to meet EU quotas.

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K31th says...
5:14pm Fri 22 Apr 11

To be honest I am not surprised that Bromley Council have done this. I was a fan of this 'food caddy' system when it was introduced and have stuck to it. But that will all change now with the introduction of this charge. It is not about cost itself , it is the fact that this is another tax that has been thrust upon us without our knowledge. Once I have finished with my current supply of recycling bags the only place my food caddy will be going is in the plastic recycling bin for collection by the dustmen because I won't be using it anymore..........Sha
me on you Bromley Council !!!!!

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