THE Forest of Dean District Council has recently announced changes to the refuse collection that will entail giving all households a wheelie bin for fortnightly collections of general household rubbish from 2012.
There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of houses in the forest that are accessed by forest tracks or by narrow, steep lanes where residents currently transport their rubbish in bags to the nearest road verge on collection days.
In many cases it will be quite impossible to tow wheelie bins from the house to the roadside - so where will the bins sit?
Will the forest be permanently littered with bins at the end of the tracks?
I have visions of the many pretty drives through the forest being disfigured by bins.
Mitcheldean, and I am sure other villages, have many houses that front straight onto the pavement with no rear access, will their bins be lined up along the pavement in front of the houses?
It would be interesting to know if the district council has considered the visual impact of wheelie bins on our environment.
Sue Heeps
Longhope