Demands grow for swift end to wheelie bin row

Milton Avenue Resident Christopher Riley and Lynne Featherstone on Milton Avenue

by Flora Drury Saturday, September 8, 2012
7:00 AM

»Highgate residents appear to be split over whether they want to be lumped with large wheelie bins for recycling, after their MP took a stand.

Lynne Featherstone wants the council to remove or replace the wheelie bins on Milton Road, Milton Avenue and Northwood Road after some residents said the bins were out of proportion and a visual detriment to the area, known as the Miltons.

The bins, part of the new fortnightly waste collection service, had to be placed on the pavements because they were too big to fit into front gardens, porches or drives.

Some residents claim their pleas for smaller bins have so far been ignored, said Ms Featherstone, the Hornsey and Wood Green MP.

She said: “It is disgraceful that after months and months of complaints, the Labour-led council will still not provide Miltons residents with adequate and practical bins.

“Clearly, one size does not fit all, and different residents have different needs.

“The council has said that wheelie bins would only be issued if they could be stored off the street, so why won’t they replace the ones at the Miltons with a workable alternative?”

But a council spokesman said: “Every resident in the Miltons has had the opportunity to have their say on how best to position the bins.

“We have contacted every household in this street at least twice, and the majority of respondents asked us to keep the bins as they were to allow all residents to recycle more.

“More than 70 per cent of respondents agreed they would rather have a few bins placed in the street than be denied the chance to recycle.”