Council should take away all rubbish

Published on 19th June 2008 in Letters

Sir - Last week yet again I contacted East Riding of Yorkshire Council about the rubbish dumped in our back lane. Last Wednesday this included 20 full refuse sacks ripped open by animals, wooden fencing, planks, cardboard boxes full of empty beer cans, concrete slabs, two TVs, bags of cement and a toilet.

No shopping trollies, thank goodness. The next day the refuse men emptied our wheelie bins but left the other rubbish. The offending items were eventually removed - but guess what? The rubbish has started to build up again.

Anyone who dumps large items should be prosecuted, end of story. But what about the household waste? Where is it coming from? In the last two years I've lived in Montrose Drive, and Lime Tree Avenue and there was never an issue with refuse.

What's different here? I think I have the answer. Around a quarter of the houses in this area are rented out and most people would agree that on average more people live in these houses than in those occupied by local people. I live on my own and every week I fill my wheelie bin half to two-thirds full. It follows that those houses with three, four or more people will produce significantly more rubbish than can be contained in one wheelie bin, hence the build up of refuse in our lanes.

This isn't being racist, it also applies to local people with large families. It's the East Riding Council I blame. They should take the rubbish away regardless of whether it's in a wheelie bin or not. I don't blame the bin men. They have to follow the orders of the pen-pushing decision makers based at County Hall, Beverley.

Kids play in our lane and the rubbish is a health and fire hazard. The structure or Goole's population has changed dramatically in recent years. East Riding of Yorkshire Council tell us to embrace diversity; I tell them to embrace our rubbish - and where are the councillors on this issue?

Paul Thompson

Milton Street, Goole