Every house in the two areas of Birmingham chosen to pilot the switch to wheelie bins will be assessed by council inspectors to see whether it is suitable for the new system.
Those failing the wheelie test will be allowed to retain the existing plastic sack refuse service.
In a belt and braces effort to see off criticism by political opponents, Labour council leaders have also ordered teams of waste management staff to tour the city’s streets to iron out any problems once the wheeled bins are in use.
Before a single bin is delivered, homes in Harborne and Brandwood will be inspected and owners told by letter whether their property is suitable for the switch from sacks to wheelie bins.
The initiative is designed to deal head on with claims from Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors that the £30 million scheme is a waste of money because many properties in Birmingham aren’t suitable for wheelie bins.
Details of how the pilot scheme will work from May were released by Cllr James McKay, the cabinet member for a green, safe and smart city.
He said property inspections would look at:
- House type.
- Number of occupants living in the property.
- External storage space, including ease of access to the rear of the property.
- Gradient / steps and other barriers between the property and the pavement.
- The ability of residents to use the wheelie bin service.
Cllr McKay announced that delivery teams would visit Harborne and Brandwood to:
- Assess each street to ascertain whether they are suitable for wheelie bin provision and compile an initial database for discussion with operations managers and ward councillors.
- Distribute leaflets to households as part of the pre‐communications campaign.
Occupiers of homes deemed suitable for wheelie bins will be told they can apply for smaller or larger bins, or ask for an assisted collection if they are unable to handle the bins themselves.
Cllr McKay said: “Residents will be notified of this assessment and, where it is thought that the property is suitable for wheelie bin collections, will be invited to tell Fleet and Waste Management of any particular issues that would make this service impractical for their particular household, or to let FWM know that they have a larger household or perhaps would prefer to have smaller bins.
“FWM will look at all of these requests and, if necessary, talk to residents about their needs.
“In circumstances where it is operationally unsafe, uneconomic or inefficient, or where there are particular circumstances in relation to a property, alternative methods of storage and collection will be offered.
“These will be based around retaining the current sack and box system, or considering communal containers where appropriate.
“Following the roll‐out, FWM staff will be available in the neighbourhood and contactable by phone to discuss any particular problems or issues that might arise so that they can make sure that the new services work for everybody.
“Following the delivery of the wheelie bins, a sample of 250 face to face consultation interviews will be carried out with residents in each ward to receive feedback on the effectiveness of communications with them, before, during and after implementation of wheelie bins and the delivery phases.”
Arrangements for the pilot wards will run in conjunction with a city-wide consultation over the switch to wheelie bins.
Cllr McKay added that Birmingham was following 82 per cent of English councils where wheelie bins are already in use. The new system would help to boost recycling rates as well as deliver a cleaner street environment.
He added: “It is recognised that wheelie bins have advantages in helping to maintain the cleanliness
of local neighbourhoods by avoiding the problems that many residents experience with sacks splitting open, being torn by pests or paper and plastic bottles blowing down the street on a windy day.”
Cllr Robert Alden, deputy leader o
