Brentwood's Forgotten Flat Dwellers

Brentwood's new recycling system has been blasted by Cllr Karen Chilvers over the woeful inadequacies offered to residents of flats across the borough. She has demanded that the Tory-controlled council find an alternate solution to fit, but her request was refused.

Karen says:

"Over the last few months I have made my displeasure clear over the roll out of the new recycling system of the blue and white bags that replaced orange bag recycling.

"It is Rollason Way, near Brentwood station, that I am particularly worried about. As a street consisting completely of flats - roughly 800 of them - a solution to the recycling problem does not exist under the new system. Frankly, the flat dwellers of Rollason Way have been forgotten by Brentwood Council, who are now trying to blame the management companies (they were given a fait accompli and they should not be blamed for not dancing to the council's tune) . Interaction with the companies should have happened months before the system was rolled out".

"It is abundantly clear that this system of blue and white bags is set up for people who live in houses with side access and a shed in which to store them. (I'm not even starting on the problems for disabled people or elderly residents to cope with the system).

"Rollason Way residents are now left with two options. 1) to independently try to use the blue and white bags or 2) to take their recycling to a "bring site" themselves. Both of these options are unacceptable and largely unworkable. This area has low car ownership due to the inadequate parking availability making it impossible to haul rubbish across Warley".

"To even imagine that the blue and white bag system will work here is laughable. There's a big difference between having one bag outside one house and 60 bags outside one front door of a block of flats. This has clearly not been thought through with the flats in mind. The very notion that 60 bags will be successfully returned to their owners in just one block at the end of the day is incredulous. Also, this is far from the extent of the problem with some blocks without a kerbside and accessed via a pathway. The layout of the interior of the flat blocks should also be considered with lengthy corridors, stairs and lifts to negotiate all the way to leaving rubbish sacks out".

Cllr Chilvers has been promised there will be a review and further report in June and, if re-elected in May, she will address the issue once again.