Birmingham City Council deny theft is to blame for recycling box disappearances

• Mar. 7 by Christopher Smith (2)

Birmingham City Council’s Environmental Operations Manager has denied any knowledge of recycling box theft, despite evidence suggesting that the issue is as prominent as ever.

Jeremy Shields said he was not ‘personally aware of any evidence of recycling boxes being stolen in the legally-defined sense.’

He did concede, however; ‘it is accepted that boxes go missing, usually for reasons unknown, and that people can ask for replacements.’

Mr. Shields’ statement contradicts residents Birmingham Recycled have spoken to.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, stated that they had been forced to take another residents’ recycling box following the disappearance of their own.

Another resident, Fabia McMahon, came home from work one evening to find her recycling bin had been taken from the front of her house. She said:

“It’s annoying as it defeats the object of recycling.

We’re supposed to be working together to make the world a better place to live, but people are just abusing the privilege and stealing from one another.”

Disappearances

The disappearance of recycling boxes has been an issue across the country since local authorities introduced door-to-door recycling schemes. Areas in the West Midlands, such as Cannock, have been particularly badly hit.

Whilst no official explanation has been given for the frequent disappearance of the boxes, theft is usually blamed.

Poor communication

The council has also been criticised for poor communication when trying to claim a replacement box, with various residents claiming they were passed around various departments who didn’t seem to know the procedure for claiming a box.

Addressing communication issues, Jeremy Shields blamed recent technology updates and a spike in calls regarding a backlog of collections following the bad weather:

‘During and after the extreme weather, there was a spike in telephone calls to the Contact Centre, caused by people calling about delays in services.

This situation unforseeably occurred at a time when new software was being used by Call Agents, which produced problems with unfamiliarity.

The combined effect was that people had, regrettably, problems with making contact by telephone, and I apologise for these difficulties.’

Despite this, Shields claimed no knowledge of residents being passed around departments:

‘Only one department is involved [in replacement recycling boxes], and I am surprised that anyone could form any other opinion.

The impact of the issues I have mentioned has diminished, and will continue to do so, with the situation therefore improving progressively.

Additionally, the  online option seems to be increasing in use, which helps to move matters forward.’