|
| Author | Topic: Maggots in Bins |
| Doretta |
posted 8/6/06 3:28 PM
If anyone can provide a link to an article where this problem is occurring in an area where general waste is collected WEEKLY we would be interested to see it. Just one of the many articles appearing in the local press: http://www.corbytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=671&ArticleID=1672232 |
| Jamie |
posted 8/14/06 7:22 PM
Interesting article. Particularly when the spokesperson from the council says: The council has no plans to change collection days at the present time. We have received under a dozen complaints and have given advice about reducing problems. Under a dozen complaints. That's what I think is referred to as negligible. |
| ray |
posted 8/15/06 6:51 PM
We had maggots last week. Just because people dont complain it dosent mean they are happy. Most people I know simply dont bother because they know they are wasting their breath. |
| Doretta |
posted 8/15/06 9:25 PM
Very true, Ray, but of course councils wish to under-estimate the problem which we know exists in the thousands. Many people would be embarrassed but they shouldn't be as it is not their fault. |
| Jamie |
posted 8/17/06 12:06 AM
Ray/Doretta (oh, how displaying ISPs would make this site interesting), Au contraire, in many areas people complaining about alternate weekly schemes are often referred to as the vocal minority. The overwhelming majority of residents are happy with these schemes and suffer no problems yet they remain silent. It only tends to be the tiny number that claim to have problems (usually as a result of not following guidelines adequately) that make any noise. |
| Doretta |
posted 8/18/06 2:43 PM
If anyone would like links to the numerous articles about this problem please contact me at: doretta@weeklywaste.com When weekly collections were first introduced, that frequency was to take into account the life cycle of the housefly (7 days or less)- nothing has changed and this problem occurs in areas where fortnightly collections are operating EVERY SUMMER not just in exceptionally hot summer temperatures. It is noticed that many councils have "maggot advice sheets" - did they need these before the advent of fortnightly collections?? http://www.ketteringtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=664&ArticleID=1682923 |
| ray |
posted 8/19/06 2:47 PM
The BBC are discussing waste colections at http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=3295&edition=1&ttl=20060819154400&#paginator Seems more people unsatisfied than satisfied. |
| Jamie |
posted 8/21/06 4:10 PM
Hi Ray, yup, that's how they get classed as 'the vocal minority' Doretta, could you provide me with your source for the claim that weekly collections were so designed to take into account the life cycle of the house fly? I, for one, have never heard this before. |
| Doretta |
posted 8/21/06 6:51 PM
About half way down the page just before an illustration a relevant paragraph exists. I will search my files for the many other references I have but I did believe this was common knowledge. Common sense too! http://www.integra.org.uk/facts/history.html |
| suzanne veail |
posted 8/22/06 6:17 PM
i have to agree people in north lincs have stopped complaining simply because the council wont budge not because they are happy with the 2 weekly collections, as any one got any ideas how to get the weekly collections back |
| me |
posted 8/23/06 8:18 AM
"To comply with the Public Health Act 1875, refuse was collected regularly, to provide a routine for householders and also to reduce infestations of the housefly; the life cycle of the pest, from egg laying to the emergence of the adult insect was taken into account. This had a huge impact on death rates, which fell from 33 per 1000 population in 1870, to 13 per 1000 population in 1930. In 1926 Birmingham City Council proposed a national waste reduction campaign." If this is the paragraph to which you refer - pasted complete from the site Doretta linked to - theer seems only to be a reference to "regularly" not weekly. Have I missed a bit? |
| Jamie |
posted 8/23/06 8:26 AM
Indeed. I think that Doretta is poring through her other sources and will get back to us. |
| me |
posted 8/23/06 8:28 AM
I would also draw people's attention to the call for a national waste reduction campaign mentioned at the end of the paragraph, cited by Doretta and which I pasted into my previous message - surely this is what we should be concentrating on? Also up to the advent of our "throwaway" society" with ready meals and plastic wrappings etc, very little food was actually thrown away. People either cooked just enough or else used leftovers creatively (usually!) for subsequent meals, or gave to pigs. (OK we can't give to pigs now but there are an increasingly large number of systems that allow us to compost even meat waste at home and return nutrients to the soil - Bokashi, Green Cone, Green Johanna, to name but three). Surely this is what we should be concentrating on and working with our waste collection providers, not trying to subvert their attempts to reduce the high quantities of waste - especially biodegradable - going to landfill. Less food waste in bins would mean less fun for flies and maggots. QED |
| Doretta |
posted 8/27/06 9:41 AM
Detailed information on the life cycle of the housefly: http://www.arkayltd.co.uk/pages/info_about_flying_insects/detailed_fly_info_files/house_fly_detailed_info.htm |
| Jamie |
posted 8/29/06 11:00 AM
Hi Doretta, could you provide me with your source for the claim that weekly collections were so designed to take into account the life cycle of the house fly? - sorry to repeat my early question but the link you supplied doesn't actually answer it. |
| Doretta |
posted 9/10/06 10:47 AM
Jamie - there is a reference in the Public Health Act 1936 and the following link is from a World Health Organisation report where it is stated that in temperate climates waste should be collected once a week - see page 8. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resources/vector302to323.pdf |
| Jamie |
posted 9/12/06 11:53 AM
Again Doretta, this source does not show that weekly collections were so designed to take into account the life cycle of the house fly. It reference both weekly collections and houses flies but does not support your earlier claim. Of course I post this in the expectation that it will be deleted just like my other reasonable post and new topics that you have unjustly deleted. |
| Doretta |
posted 9/13/06 3:48 PM
I have been asked whether I know Jamie and AC - I do not and as people are quite entitled to post under pseudonyms (until we change the rules!)we welcome all debate whether it is for or against alternate weekly refuse collections. We cannot allow postings where other contributors are verbally attacked or where the content is inappropriate and they will continue to be removed. Jamie, to address your particular question regarding the link between 7 day refuse collection and the life cycle of the housefly, I am still searching for my original reference which I believe was in my degree coursework. I certainly do not make up stories to support our Campaign and resent that implication. The World Health Organisation is a well-respected authority on disease control. The link I gave you was contained in a report that I have known about for some years but have been unable to trace until now. In summary, this is a chapter relating specifically to houseflies and the control measures which should be in place: Under the heading Garbage and other organic refuse it states: "This breeding medium can be eliminated by proper collection, storage, transortation and disposal.... Flies are likely to breed in garbage containers even if they are tightly closed. In warm climates the larvae may leave the containers for pupation after only 3-4 days. In such places, garbage has to be collected at least twice a week. In temperate climates once a week is sufficient. When emptying a container it is important to remove any residue left in the bottom." The UK has a temperate climate - do you agree with the World Health Organisation? |
|
|