James Debono
The government wants garbage collection to take place at a more convenient time for families where both spouses work, preferably after 7 pm, parliamentary secretary for public dialogue Chris Said has told MaltaToday.
The present situation is that local councils are free to determine garbage collection times, so the times vary from one locality to the other, with some doing morning collections, others in the afternoon.
This state of affairs means many working spouses are forced leave their garbage on the pavement in the early morning before they leave to work.
But in the last week, Birkirkara residents received a letter from the local council advising them not to take out their garbage before 2:45pm – merely an hour before collection commences.
The council claimed it had received complaints about residents who put their garbage on the pavement in the morning, long before the collector passes.
But angry residents have called MaltaToday complaining that they cannot obey the council’s instructions simply because they are at work at the time when the council expects them to take out their garbage.
But when questioned by MaltaToday the B’Kara council announced that it intends to change the garbage collection times.
“The hours mentioned in the letter se are those established hours of the present tender. However for the convenience of the general public the hours will be changed before signing the new tender next year. The new hours of waste collection will be either early in the morning or late evening.”
When asked whether letters like that sent by the Birkirkara council reflect modern-day realities, parliamentary secretary Chris Said said the government had no say on the matter but he urged local councils to take into consideration the needs of families where both spouses work.
Moreover he announced that the government is pressing for the introduction of a uniform time for garbage collection in the ongoing public consultation on the reform of local government.
He also announced that discussions are under way with WasteServ with the aim of extending the times when the landfill is open for private contractors who collect the waste.
In this way local councils will be able to collect garbage after 7 pm – a time which would be both convenient for single parent families with one breadwinner and families where both spouses work.
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