What rubbish

Unbelieveable news yesterday that one local council had reduced it's binmen collections to once a fortnight, and was then fining anyone £100 who put extra bin bags out with their over-stuffed wheelie bins.

Residents have complained that their wheelie bins are already smaller than the average bin, and fortnightly collections are forcing them to put extra bin bags out. Then they get fined for doing so!!!

Why has our Government suddenly gone rubbish-mad? We now have chips on our wheelie bin lids, detecting their weight and how much litter we throw out each week - and you get fined if you don't recycle enough. Rumours abound that some families will be charged an extra £10 a month for the privilege of having the binmen collect their rubbish, and others face fines of up to £20,000 for putting their rubbish out on the wrong day, it was revealed.

I mean FFS HELLO?????? Our country and indeed the world is going to shit with wars and higher taxes and unemployment and immigration and teenage murders - issues FAR MORE IMPORTANT than litter?!?!?! Yet we are getting anal about our wheelie bins.....yes, wheelie bins are such a priority over spiralling military costs and innocent soldier lives lost in Iraq.

All these latest stupid fines will do is make more people fly-tip, and our countryside and neighbourhoods will start to overflow with abandoned binbags. People who take the time and effort to drive extra rubbish to the local tip themselves just add to the traffic on the road, and the global warming problem from car usage.

I agree litter and recycling is also important, but why aren't the Government hitting manufacturers and supermarkets, who insist on shrink-wrapping everything, or packaging it in numerous layers of clear plastic tubs and needless cardboard boxes? Did we ASK to have our brocolli shrink-wrapped, there is just no need! I bought a USB card-reader the other day and it came encased in a hard plastic shell - it would have been equally fine in a sturdy cardboard box that would at least rot down.

Tesco trumpeted the other week about how they are reducing the amount of plastic bags they use by 25% over the next few years, and how they were encouraging shoppers to re-use plastic bags (for the princely reward of ONE Tesco Clubcard point per bag re-used). OOOH HOW THRILLING. 25% reduction over the next TWO YEARS? Come on guys you can do much more than that and a lot quicker too.

For starters get over to www.biobags.co.uk and start getting them to produce your carriers, that rot harmlessley on a compost heap within a few weeks. Or simply start charging for carrier bags like ALDI and LIDL do, it's amazing how people will drag out old carrier bags rather than spend 10p on one at the checkout. Offering one measly clubcard point while still having checkouts full of free plazzy bags won't do ANY good at all.

ALL supermarkets need to change over to Biobags, or start charging - that's the only way a tiny difference will be made.

Luckily my neighbourhood seems to be free of the Wheelie-bin Police - for now....however when my bin was nicked a few weeks back I checked the lid of my new bin just in case there was a chip in it. If there had been I'd have bloody ripped the thing out.