Don’t bin residents’ ideas

Frank Orman says now is the time for Barnet Council to listen

A blue recycling bin next to a dark grey refuse waste bin in the London Borough of Barnet — Barnet bins

Many residents tell us that, when it comes to local decision-making, they feel like an afterthought: informed once a decision has taken shape, consulted after the direction of travel has been set, and then thanked for their ‘feedback’. At best, they feel like a box to tick. At worst, an obstacle.

In seven years as chair of the Mill Hill Residents’ Association (MHRA), I have learned the opposite, that residents are one of the greatest sources of expertise, ideas and inspiration this borough has. The last few months have proved it.

In September, we asked residents around Mill Hill what moving household bin collections from weekly to fortnightly would mean for them. In under three weeks, 1,387 people replied, the biggest survey response in our association’s history, and 473 took the time to write to us in their own words.

Their verdict was almost unanimous: 89% said their bins are already mostly full, completely full or overflowing by collection day under today’s weekly service. Only 3% expected the change to have no major impact, and 94% want the plans paused until residents can understand and challenge the decision.

Behind those numbers are real households: families of five and six with nowhere to put a second week of rubbish, flats where 18 households share a handful of bins, and carers managing incontinence waste for a disabled relative. Some residents told us that, even with weekly collections, they are already getting maggots in their bins.

There was anger too. One in four comments mentioned council tax. As one resident put it: “Council tax goes up, service levels go down. So we pay more, for less.”

Residents know Barnet has had to ask the government for exceptional financial support this year, and many feel that, once again, they are being asked to pay for financial problems they did not create. The pressure on the council is real but residents feel it first, on their doorsteps.

Residents did not simply say no. They came with ideas such as collecting every ten days rather than every 14; reducing collections to fortnightly in winter but keeping them weekly through the hot summer, when smells are at their worst; putting different bins on different schedules, so recycling stays weekly; and providing larger or extra bins for families, flats and households with medical waste. These are practical ideas from people who use the service every week, and they deserve to be properly tested.

This is the council’s chance to show it really is listening. Recently, the cabinet asked officers to appraise options for future waste collections, including frequency. That is exactly the stage at which residents’ ideas belong on the table, and residents have shown they are more than ready to take part.

Residents deserve a place at that table. Too often in Barnet, they are brought in at the end of a process, to react to decisions that have already taken shape, rather than at the beginning, to help shape them. Consultation that comes too late to change anything feels like lip service, and breeds the frustration we saw in our survey.

Imagine how differently things could go if residents were treated as partners from the outset. Decisions would be better informed, problems would be spotted earlier, and solutions would come from the people who know their streets best. And when difficult choices do have to be made, residents would understand why, because they helped make them.

This is not a new argument for us. For years, MHRA has called on the council to involve residents from the start on a range of local issues. Bins are simply the latest example.

Nearly 1,400 people gave up their time to tell us what they think and how things could be done better. That is not a problem to be managed. It is an extraordinary resource, and one Barnet can use wisely.

So my ask of the council is simple. Put residents’ ideas into the options appraisal. Beyond bins, bring residents to the table at the start of the decisions that affect them, not as an irritating afterthought at the end.

The Mill Hill Residents’ Association will keep listening, and we will keep reporting back.

Frank Orman is chair of Mill Hill Residents’ Association

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