We need a bigger bin! (From Worcester News)

Family of six say they don’t have space to collect all household rubbish

11:30am Tuesday 27th October 2009 in News By Lauren Rogers, @laurenrogersWN #WENews

UNHAPPY: Doug Shipsey (42335201) Buy this photo »

A WORCESTER dad says it is not fair his family of six should have the same size wheelie bin as smaller households.

Doug Shipsey struggles to fit his household’s waste into his regulation black bin each fortnight.

He says his wife, Carole – a midwife, step-daughters Rachael Everton, aged 24, and Nicola Everton, 22, and children Thomas, 17, and Bethany, 14 – are all avid recyclers but the bin they have is the same size as their neighbour, who lives alone.

The family has a 240-litre bin for its household waste – which is the largest available. They have been offered a larger green bin, but claim the limited recycling service offered by Worcester City Council means that most of their waste is not suitable for kerbside recycling.

Mr Shipsey said: “We recycle everything we can but there’s so much that we can’t put in the recycling bin.

“Two of my older girls cannot afford to fly the nest so we have got all their waste, too.

“Usually they would have their own flat with their own bin, but because of the credit crunch they cannot move.”

Worcester City Council says it is actively working to limit the amount of rubbish going to landfill.

Mike Harrison, the council’s head of cleaner and greener, has now advised the Shipsey family about how they can further red-uce the amount of waste they produce by methods such as composting.

But Mr Shipsey, a company director, of Cover Green, Warndon Villages, says he pays a high level of council tax, due to the size of his house, and he therefore believes they should receive a bin appropriate to the size of the family.

Mr Harrison pointed out that the council will be extending its recycling service from January, to include plastics and thick cardboard, once a new sorting plant opens at Norton, near Worcester.

He said: “The council has agreed guidelines that put pressure on the amount of residual waste that will be collected and one of the rules does include when we will provide more capacity based on family sizes and make-up of the family.

“It is a vital element of the new arrangements that people do recycle – otherwise the black bin will not be sufficient to meet their needs.”

Excess waste can be taken to a household refuse site but Mr Harrison advised people against this.

He said: “We have really got to concentrate on avoiding these excess bags.

“It is a balance between maximising what facilities we provide for recycling and educating everyone how they can avoid generating waste in the first place.”

For advice about reducing household waste – including information about using compost bins and incinerators – visit worcester.gov.uk or telephone 01905 722233.