Cowboy Bin Police And Rats
“BEWARE of the cowboy bin police!”
So says the Mail’s front-page headline.
But before we can learn how to spot the cowboy bin police – clue: non-regulation eight-and-a-half gallon hats and rubbish rustling – some background is needed.
Last Tuesday, the Mail introduced its readers to a campaign: “As fortnightly refuse collections are imposed on one in three homes – and more are threatened – the Mail launches a campaign to save the WEEKLY bin round.” Readers were invited to “JOIN THE GREAT DUSTBIN REVOLT.”
This is the Mail’s “Great Bin Revolt”. It’s rubbish. It’s your rubbish. It’s British rubbish.
Plans are afoot for new bodies, called “joint waste authorities”, to take over the duties of rubbish removal from town halls. Unelected bodies will be responsible for refuse collections. And this will never do.
To put the tin lid on the argument, the Mail talks of “controversial recycling schemes which mean collections once a fortnight”.
Stopping short of tales of bubonic plague, the Mail produces a picture of a rat and a card readers can cut out and despatch to their local politicos.
It reads: “Dear Council Leader, I wish to register my objection to councils abandoning weekly rubbish collections in favour of emptying bins fortnightly. I urge you to consider the public health consequences of this practice and guarantee to provide a weekly service for all of tour council tax payers.”
And if this is not enough – and there is some chance it might not be – the Mail offers all readers a sticker they can affix to their bins and rust bucket cars. “THIS BIN NEEDS EMPTYING EVERY WEEK,” says the legend.
Of course, customising your wheely bins might place you in breach of the law and result in non collections. And it could happen. The rules are fierce.
As the Mail now reports, “The Bin Police will have powers to slap £100 on-the-spot fines on householders who put out rubbish too early or leave their bin lids open.”
Oh…
“The Bin Police will wear uniforms and operate in the same way as traffic wardens – but there are no rules to prevent councils hiring ill-trained and unsuitable individuals for the job.”
The Mail fails to tell us what form this training takes and readers are unable to decide if this is a career for them.
There is talk of targets. There is talk of fines. There is talk of the bin police not being checked for criminal convictions. Criminals in our bins. Not in this world!
As Hugh McKinney of the National Family Campaign says: “There are no rules here to stop councils using cowboy bin police.
“The victims of this proposal will often be families with young children who have more rubbish than anyone else and who will be the easiest to find and pick on.”
Native American families especially…
Posted: 28th, April 2007 | In: Tabloids Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
