It is now well known that Fylde Borough Council have purchased and are deploying the Waste Collector computer system which in conjunction with microchips stored under the lip of your wheelie bins seeks to maintain a database of how much rubbish your household is producing, how much of it is recyclable and how much of it isn’t.
Today it’s being reported that the procedure to ensure waste is more precisely categorised has taken a grip on the Fylde. New rules have been applied that now require people to pre-sort cardboard and organic non-garden waste into separate containers. Previously these items would have been placed in the green recyclable bin as is still the case in Blackpool.
Inevitably this change in rules has resulted in many bins being left untouched by the bin men with those lovely stickers plastered on them, so the person whose bin it is has to wait another fortnight before they can get rid of their refuse.
It has been claimed that these adjustments are due to the usage of a new recycling facility in Thornton, which may well be the case, but when the chip and bin system is deployed it means that the council have a more accurate idea of precisely what kind of waste each household is producing.
By making people spend more and more time sorting their rubbish for no perceived benefit, there will come a point at which people can’t be bothered. The last time the council left my garden bin because it was “too heavy”, the contents had to be burned. No problem for me, but this goes against the whole ethos of being environmentally friendly and is caused directly by councils and their pigeon-holed, jobsworth attitude to waste disposal.
The other option is to just dump everything into the non-recyclable bin. This is where Waste Collector shines, though, because the council will be able to see who is doing this and send some heavies to pay them a visit. Eventually when councils are permitted to start levying additional taxes for waste disposal, householders will be hammered until they comply with the council’s recycling policy.
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Why can’t they sort the big pieces of cardboard from garden clippings etc. at the recycling center. That is what has successfully worked with Blackpool waste for over 5 years. In the other bin glass, metal cans and plastic bottles are sorted at the recycling centre.
I was a Cllr when this came in and “waste officers” were pleased that they had got a deal enabling cardboard waste to go in the red bin (green lid).
Cardboard ie food packaging is 60% to 70% of the stuff in most red bins in Blackpool.
There will be a lot of trouble if that Fylde rule is introduced in Blackpool.
We have a bag for newspapers, another bag for cardboard is not acceptable.
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It does border on the ridiculous I agree.
I wonder, though: doesn’t Blackpool use the same waste disposal facility?
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Dear Phil,
I am the Director of Customer and Operational Services at Fylde Borough Council and waste management falls within my remit. I am sorry that I must inform you that whoever has been providing you with information has misled you about the waste management service.
As the Director responsible for the service I can reassure you and the residents of Fylde of the following:
1. The wheeled bins DO NOT contain micro chips that can weigh or assess the waste individual householders throw away.
2. To operate such a scheme would require national legislation.
3. The Council would have to change every vehicle and chip every bin to implement such a scheme at a cost of millions which is simply unrealistic.
4. There is no political will at Fylde to introduce such a scheme and officers would never advocate this approach – even if national law allowed.
5. The Council does not have the technology to operate such a scheme.
The changes to the cardboard service have been dictated by the requirement to use the plant at Thornton by the waste disposal authority which is the County Council. Blackpool is a unitary council and as such responsible for both collection and disposal of waste so they will be using the plant later in the year when they will have to communicate changes to their residents.
I am sorry that your blog has been subject to misinformation and I trust you will address this issue with your source. Howvever, if at anytime you would like the facts about the services direct from the people responsible for delivering them then please just email me at allano@fylde.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Allan Oldfield
Director of Customer & Operational Services
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Thanks for the clarification, Allan.
Can I just clarify that you’re denying that bins in Fylde contain RFID chips? I know that these chips don’t weigh the bins; this much is obvious. However they can, as you know, store data linking the bin to the household, and you can weigh the bins on your collection trucks, creating a link between weight of particular types of waste (recyclable/non-recyclable) and individual households.
You are probably aware that I’ve checked my bins and the green bin has a RFID chip, as does the non-recyclable bin. You can read about it here:
http://philtheone.com/2010/02/chip-and-bin-part-2-if-you-tolerate-this-then-blackpool-will-be-next/
Do you therefore deny that “The (Waste Collector) scheme is being funded by the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership after Allan Oldfield led his team in a Dragon’s Denstyle bidding procedure.”
And finally do you deny that Cllr David Eaves said this about Waste Collector;
“Information as to which houses have been collected will be sent back to the depot in ‘real time’. It means that managers will be able to see which, if any, properties have been missed – and get a vehicle back.
“It will tell frontline staff how many bins each property has and which householders need
help with collections. It will tell managers which collections have been missed at a
glance as collected houses appear on the screen in green while missed ones appear red.
“Real-time vehicle tracking will also help with planning routes and optimising use of
staff – thus maximising service levels while reducing fuel costs and emissions.”
I mean, that might be what you’re using Waste Collector for now, but as soon as that law changes, come on, you know those taxes will be flowing, especially in an authority as far up the financial Swanee as Fylde is.
As for my source, well, it was Fylde Borough Council’s own web site, so any misinformation is well and truly down to your web site boffins.
http://www.fylde.gov.uk/news/2010/mar/030310hightech/
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very well said Phil!
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Phil,
Your misinformation is obviously misinterpretation then and I am happy to meet with you and clarify these issues if you want me to rather than spend all night on blogs. But just so your clear the following are facts:
The original chip in the bin was used by the company that provided the bins in 2003/04 so that once all the bins had been delivered to every property they could set up the new rounds on computer. The technology belonged to the firm that provided the bins and cannot be used to assess the weight or contents of the bins.
The waste collector system is a satellite navigation facility that will link the refuse truck to the customer service team so we know if bins have been missed, if the customer needs assistance or to tell the grew that they need to go back for a bin. It is essentially the modern version of the old in cab radios and is a communication tool – please read the article carefully. The system cannot weigh bins and is not linked to the anything but GPRS. We simply want to deliver better customer service.
I don’t know what more I need to say to reassure you that we cannot and we do not want to weigh bins individually and charge households based on what they throw away. It is simply not practical, not desirable and not affordable.
As I said I am happy for you to come and discuss these issues and clarify anything that is unclear to you. The ball is firmly in your court as I have no idea who you are or any of the other people on this site.
Thank you for your time.
Allan Oldfield
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I’m not saying the chip can identify bin contents or any of that.
I’m saying that you can record on your new system Property X, Green Bin, and the weight of this bin will be recorded. And now that cardboard has been removed from the green bin, you can more precisely report the type of waste and amounts of it, per household.
On the Bartec Systems website, it says that Waste Collector can, “target recycling initiatives and measure the results at household and street level”.
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“1. The wheeled bins DO NOT contain micro chips that can weigh or assess the waste individual householders throw away.”
Maybe not, but do the bins contain a chip which can identify the homeowner/ taxpayer and can the collection lorry easily be fitted with equipment which will enable the bin & contents to be weighed and cross referenced with the homeowners bin???? Of course it can.
“3. The Council would have to change every vehicle and chip every bin to implement such a scheme at a cost of millions which is simply unrealistic.”
Absolute rubbish (sic). The chips cost about £2 fitted!
What is this smokescreen about National Law???
Your heading down a slippery slope Mr Oldfield. You shouldn’t be getting involved in local politics without being absolutely sure of your facts and the intentions of your political masters!
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Phil,
I have removed any alerts on this topic but you are more than welcome to email me direct at allano@fylde.gov.uk
Thanks
Allan Oldfield
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Thanks Allan.
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What a shame! As a Fylde Council area dweller that was just getting interesting. Our bins definitely do have the black circular chips in – both the green and the grey and it’s not Allan I don’t trust to bring charges in but that Chief Executive of his. Generally the bin collection service is excellent here in Fylde – I’ve certainly never seen fitter faster running bin men anywhere. The recycling round introduced does cause some problems in that more litter is dropped during it – I’ve even seen plastic meat packaging boxes thrown on the street by the men. Fine I understand they can’t take them, but it would be nice it they went through the contamination process with the guilty party instead of letting them blow about until some innocent party has to put them in their grey bin. And three different lorries for the recycling process seems excessive (prior to the cardboard change there were two) – especially when we know at Fylde in particular the pennies need to be watched (and I’m not blaming Allan personally for that).
The greatest thing about this blog is the way Phil lets everyone directly have a right of reply so that misunderstandings about things published in the Gazette get cleared up. It’s great that Allan came on to discuss this at all so all thanks to him.
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Exactly.
As Mr Olfdield has demonstrated, if anyone wishes to shut me up, the simplest way is to come on here and asphyxiate me with facts and make clear statements that I can’t possibly argue with.
On issues like this which develop cynicism and mistrust because councils never say never when a tax could be applied, it is refreshing to see a public servant come out and say it how it is.
As I’ve said to Allan privately, I just hope his statements on here do not come back to haunt him!
Allan has left the door open so that any direct queries about this or related issues can be sent directly to him. His email is of course there for you to use.
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