Corruption,attitude,and intimidation within waste refuse collection service

The request was partially successful.

Dear Birmingham City Council,
I am a Council Taxpayer within your remit and have received appallingly bad service from the refuse collection team which allegedly serves our area.Our last recycling bin and paper waste,including everyone on one side of our road only,was not collected on the due day on 23rd July but has been finally collected today 6th August.Of course this is annoying,but perhaps understandable if there are logistics issues so I didn`t complain,however I have had two serious issues with the household waste collection.The first issue is that,last week on 30th July, a big intimidating fellow with attitude problems refused to take my half empty bin because I had put 3 pieces of chipboard about 12 inchs square on top of my small black bag within the wheelie bin.On observing this miscollection I wheeled the bin down the pavement after him and asked him what was the problem,he said he was rejecting the bin because the rubbish was contaminated with wood.I said chipboard wasn`t really wood or recyclable,and he argued back by involving a member of the public standing on their doorstep and saying "chipboard isn`t wood,is it luv?"or words very much to that effect.Being a respectful and civilized person I didn`t argue in front of everyone,I just wheeled the bin home.To-day,6th August 2020, I put my bin out, obviously full with 2 weeks worth of waste in but with the lid still down, and stood on my doorstep to see that it was taken.The same big fellow as the previous week came along,lifted the lid,and walked away as if to leave it.I quickly approached him and said"what`s wrong now?"and he said he was not taking it because there was 3 small pieces of clear perspex on top of the contents,so it was contaminated with recyclables.I said perspex was a hard plastic and not allowed in recyclable bin, and said he hadn`t put a refusal sticker on the bin, whereupon he went to the lorry a fetched a refusal tag.I said I thought he was being unreasonable,but he just walked away,and as he walked away he called back to his colleage"Oi,what is the number of that house I have just tagged?"
FOI Q1.Based on my evidential statement,is it correct that the 3 small pieces of chipboard are classed by the Council as"wood"and therefore contaminate the waste and,if so,how am I supposed to dispose of this small ammount of waste in a reasonable manner?
FOIQ2.Based on my evidential statement,is it correct that the 3 small pieces of hard clear perspex are classed as recyclable and,if so,why does your website say that it is not?
FOIQ3.Based on my witness statement,if I feel that the big fellow with bad attitude is not a good representation of a Council employee and has indirectly made threats, causing me alarm and distress, by asking his assistant to confirm my house number, what is the procedure to have him reprimanded for causing intimidation and being disrespectful and not doing his job properly in unreasonably refusing to collect rubbish?
FOIQ4.When are penalty charges applicable if a wheelie bin is left outside of a property and what is the penalty charge?
FOI Q5.Reference the alleged corruption aspect,I suspect that the big fellow is creating additional costs and work for his fellow staff by encoraging callouts, please advise how many refused collections have been recorded in the past 12 calendar months to establish if a conspiracy is in effect.
End of FOI requests.
I would appreciate a response as soon as possible,although I do appreciate the FOI guidelines, as your big fellow has caused me stress and yet represents the standards of Birmingham Council employees.
Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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Dear Dennis Fallon
 
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 6 August
2020 concerning refuse collection information.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 and we aim to send a response by 04 September 2020.
In some case, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we will
send you a fees notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
 
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 may restrict the release of
some or all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an
assessment and if any exceptions apply to some or all of the information
then we might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if
this is the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal
review and to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Yours faithfully
 

Information Governance Team

Neighbourhoods Directorate         

Birmingham City Council      

 
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
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Dear Birmingham City Council,
Reference my FOI requests listed as 16856421 I would appreciate adding to the list of requests to help understand the bigger picture as to why your employees have attitude problems.I really felt threatened by your big bin man even though I thought I had done nothing wrong, my household rubbish is generally neatly wrapped in bags and although I know that many other people have disgraceful standards,often based on ignorance,that should not be my problem and I hope to gain clarification that I can show to any aggressive bin man who trys to be stroppy.My Council Tax is fully paid up to date and I get very,very little for it, and although I do sympathise that the Labour Cabinet Member for Waste,Councillor John O`Shea has difficulties doing his job he has sadly failed to communicate with the public or media about anything.
FOIQ6.WIhat training or education do Waste Services Employees(WSE`S) see or receive in dealing with the public how often is the training repeated, does the Council make referrals available for Anger Management Courses or Councelling of any kind?
End of FOI Q6.
Your website has a vague list of what cannot be put into the recycling bin, and this is a source of confusion especially when cross refenced to what can be put in the household bin.Apparently you CANNOT recycle Pizza boxes or soiled paper, paint tins,drink glasses, hard plastics, light bulbs and mirrors, batteries,and metal such as coat hangers.Household rubbish does NOT include building waste(such as soil or rubble),electrical items and batteries, wood,metal or asbestos.Your argumentative bin man was stating that the small pieces of chipboard were either building waste or wood and that the small pieces of hard clear perspex were recyclable, so one of us has got an education problem.The highly paid people in charge of waste management for this massive local authority are FAILING in their duty to advise the public of their requirement, I know from random media stories that there are issues regarding disposal of wrapping papers and tinsel but you have failed to mention it on the website,and you have failed to provide alternative options for items you refuse to handle as exceptional waste which may partially help explain why there is so much flytipping and throwing things over the fence being the default option for Birmingham. You are having problems and a lot of it is your own fault and a result of poor management.
FOIQ7.As a separate attachment which can be printed off and shown to any bin man, please produce a spreadsheet,or pdf etc, with an item description in the first column,and in the second column an acceptability criteria in terms of quantity or other factor of unpleasantness or, if totally unacceptable, the alternative means of disposal for those who have no car.The spreadsheet should include all the items currently displayed on your website, and expand upon the unacceptably vague term `soiled paper`to include explain about wallpaper and various wrapping papers etc,and explain about why you can`t recycle drink glasses and what to do with broken sheets of glass,and examples of what items are classed as hard plastics,and what to do with plastic bowls and buckets, and damaged metal saucepans, metal coathangers,electrical items and lightbulbs, soiled nappies and waste meat and bones after religious festivals.I object to the Birmingham default option now being `over the fence`,especially with the encoragement of rats,but the people may not understand and this aspect is a failure of the council and the so called community leaders.
FOI Q8.Please advise the current annual salary,holiday entitlement,hours of work and job title of the 3 person crew of the standard household refuse lorry,the rate of overtime pay(if any),and for the past financial year the financial cost of running the waste management system in terms of salaries and overtime paid, and other costs including the purchase of vehicles.
End of new FOI requests.
Sorry to bother you with such a long request,I anticipate that you will not try to refuse it on the grounds of vexatiousness or excessive cost to retrieve data or respond, because the response is not just for my own selfish trivial purposes, as I have posted it on a public website,but to understand why both the public and the bin people are so ignorant about what constitutes good practice and why the highly paid people in charge are underperforming in their communication skills.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Reference my FOI regarding the argumentative or obsessively dedicated binman,as part of your response as to what is unacceptable for the household wheeliebin collection as `building waste`or `wood`please include explanations regarding waste fibreboard,plywood,laminate flooring and polystyrene board, to know if small amounts are allowed.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Fallon
 
I'm writing to acknowledge receipt of your two emails containing new
questions and clarifications for this FOI/EIR request. They have been
added to your request. You will hear from us again in due course with a
final response.
 
Regards
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Reference my FOI regarding the argumentative or obsessively dedicated
binman,as part of your response as to what is unacceptable for the
household wheeliebin collection as `building waste`or `wood`please include
explanations regarding waste fibreboard,plywood,laminate flooring and
polystyrene board, to know if small amounts are allowed.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

-----Original Message-----

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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[FOI #682320 email]

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BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
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email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
***********************************************************************

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The information contained within this e-mail (and any attachment) sent by
Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be legally privileged. It
is intended only for the named recipient or entity to whom it is
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please accept our
apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised access, use,
disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be unlawful. Any
e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by Birmingham City
Council for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance
with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking software may also be
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Dear Birmingham City Council,
Thank you,I am quite content to wait for a proper response to complete the missing information that your website fails to provide.This email does not add to the request situation but for the record, today 13th August,the same binman came and emptied my full bin without any issues, although I have left the perspex out to avoid any controversy.The observation about possible corruption unfortunately still stands as I have just cycled down the road to go shopping and noticed a concerned elderly resident looking in her bin.I stopped to ask her if her collection had been missed and she said it was, so I asked her if she minded if I looked inside, which she allowed, and her bin was only one third full of loose rubbish.It is my considered opinion that the binmen are cutting corners by not emptying bins which they consider are not full enough if the contents are not enclosed in a black bag which they can remove easily and put inside the next bin.I accidentally fell foulof their unadvertised tactics when I put a few pieces of chipboard on top of my black bag which prevented them easily transferring it to the next bin.It really is not very good if the binmen are deciding what rubbish they should take depending on the quantity and whether it is bagged or not.They are paid to take rubbish away from people who pay for the service.If there is a policy of not taking away small amounts of rubbish if it is not bagged the public need to be informed to buy black bags,there was no tag on the ladies bin advising of refusal,it was just conveniently overlooked and the poor woman was confused.I appreciate the binmen are glad to cut corners but if it results in additional costs due to call outs that cannot be acceptable.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Fallon
 
Your emails contain some content which may be best resolved via the
Council's complaints process (although, we will of course continue with
your FOI request).
 
All of your emails have been forwarded to the Waste Management service to
consider. However, as you are corresponding via a public website and
therefore have not provided your address, they will not be able to
investigate your specific circumstances or respond to you.
 
If you wish to receive a response to the concerns you raised, please
complete our online complaints form.
 
[1]https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/complaints
 
Alternatively, please privately email your address to us at
[2][email address], quoting your FOI reference number. We can
then pass this to the Waste Management Service to log as a complaint.
 
Thank you.
 
Regards
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Thank you,I am quite content to wait for a proper response to complete the
missing information that your website fails to provide.This email does not
add to the request situation but for the record, today 13th August,the
same binman came and emptied my full bin without any issues, although I
have left the perspex out to avoid any controversy.The observation about
possible corruption unfortunately still stands as I have just cycled down
the road to go shopping and noticed a concerned elderly resident looking
in her bin.I stopped to ask her if her collection had been missed and she
said it was, so I asked her if she minded if I looked inside, which she
allowed, and her bin was only one third full of loose rubbish.It is my
considered opinion that the binmen are cutting corners by not emptying
bins which they consider are not full enough if the contents are not
enclosed in a black bag which they can remove easily and put inside the
next bin.I accidentally fell foulof their unadvertised tactics when I put
a few pieces of chipboard on top of my black bag which prevented them
easily transferring it to the next bin.It really is not very good if the
binmen are deciding what rubbish they should take depending on the
quantity and whether it is bagged or not.They are paid to take rubbish
away from people who pay for the service.If there is a policy of not
taking away small amounts of rubbish if it is not bagged the public need
to be informed to buy black bags,there was no tag on the ladies bin
advising of refusal,it was just conveniently overlooked and the poor woman
was confused.I appreciate the binmen are glad to cut corners but if it
results in additional costs due to call outs that cannot be acceptable.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Fallon
 
I'm writing to acknowledge receipt of your two emails containing new
questions and clarifications for this FOI/EIR request. They have been
added to your request. You will hear from us again in due course with a
final response.
 
Regards
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Reference my FOI regarding the argumentative or obsessively dedicated
binman,as part of your response as to what is unacceptable for the
household wheeliebin collection as `building waste`or `wood`please include
explanations regarding waste fibreboard,plywood,laminate flooring and
polystyrene board, to know if small amounts are allowed.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #682320 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
***********************************************************************

***********************************************************************

The information contained within this e-mail (and any attachment) sent by
Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be legally privileged. It
is intended only for the named recipient or entity to whom it is
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please accept our
apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised access, use,
disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be unlawful. Any
e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by Birmingham City
Council for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance
with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking software may also be
used. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the originator
and do not necessarily represent those of Birmingham City Council. We
cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has
not been intercepted and amended.

***********************************************************************

References

Visible links
1. https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/complaints
2. file:///tmp/foiextract20200813-26779-14o1gtk#

hide quoted sections

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Thank you for your attention.The primary aim of my requests is, as of August 2020, to let the Council know, and put it on the public record, how I perceive the binmen to be operating the collection service to suit their own needs and not that of the taxpayers.I did not realise I had inadvertently upset their corner cutting tactics,I do not wish to initiate a complaint against a fellow human being but I wish for the Council to be aware as to how some residents are not receiving good service and how this may be resulting in additional costs by way of callouts and may be encoraging flytipping.I was also concerned that the senior binman was setting a bad example to his junior binman as the lad thought it amusing how I was being ignored, and that seemed to be his education on how to treat others.I don`t mind the binmen cutting corners by pooling black bags if it improves their efficiency but when it causes aggravation that is not acceptable.I was treated properly today, my bin was emptied nicely and put back perfectly in place so I have no complaint, but I was concerned that the old lady whose one third full bin was not emptied was a bit distressed and said she would leave it out a bit longer `in case they come back`. i felt really sorry for her hopeful ambitions,older people are so trusting.I know I have put you to a lot of trouble producing information regarding waste disposal but this information is long absent and could really be put on your website for general education.
Thanks again,
Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

dennis fallon left an annotation ()

Certain members of our changing community think it is o.k to get rid of their rubbish by throwing it over the nearest fence. as they develop their properties.This happens a lot in Birmingham but interesting to see a video from London showing it goes on there in the same way.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Fallon

Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with a response
to your information request. Whilst we strive to respond to all the
information requests we receive in a timely manner, sometimes this isn't
possible.

We will endeavour to provide you with a response as soon as possible.

 

Regards

Information Governance

Neighbourhoods Directorate

Birmingham City Council

 

 

BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

Dear Birmingham City Council,
Thank you for update,the delay is acceptable to me because the request is effectively a mini project to establish how waste should be processed, and I hope that as a result the information on your website will be upgraded to educate the oblivious public.Despite being additional to this FOI request,it would be helpful if there could be a comment made about the commonest problems encountered by the waste/recycling process, because if the public were aware of the problems they might make an effort to help avoid them.There is a lot of confusion amongst caring people because,sadly,the Council have to be encoraged to pass on information that should be readily available.The Council should have a duty to inform the public clearly how to process rubbish and if you could rectify this oversight the process could become more cost efficient and more environmentally beneficial.I am sorry that you have been oblivious to the ignorance of the public and the performance of your collection teams, but I am content to wait significantly longer to achieve a quality response.The request is posted on a public website for general education at no additional cost.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

Dear Birmingham City Council,
I have posted this FOI request regarding the processing of waste on a public website for the purposes of addressing an issue which should have been dealt with previously without requiring my intervention.Apart from the issue of bin men threatening members of the public who upset their corner cutting tactics,which I have chosen not to pursuit further, there appears to be a disgraceful lack of genuine concern by the Local Authority in failing to support the community, by leaving them in a state of ignorance of what is right or wrong.I see people`s wheelie bins out on collection day and note that their behaviour is a shambles, with unrinsed containers and all sorts of odd items contaminating the recycling bins yet the Council don`t seem genuinely bothered.Whilst I await completion of my request simply PLEASE CONFIRM who is actually dealing with it and what is their estimated ETA, and please confirm where the recycling waste is currently sent for sorting and which firm holds the contract, and if the firm have imposed any penalties, or rejected the recycling, because of excessive contamination of the contents. This intermediate clarification is not a new request, it simply requires a few words of explanation of the current situation.The public have a right to know if the recycling is being sent for incineration or landfill for financial reasons, because the council seem unconcerned about the quality of the recycling and make no effort to educate the public.I have allowed a generous 2 months for the request to be completed,I am sorry to appear so annoyed,I have demonstrated considerable tolerance and patience, but I am concerned about the ongoing pollution of the environment and the little effort being made to educate the public on how they can help.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon(BScHons)

Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Fallon
 
We are very sorry that we are not in a position to provide an estimated
time for completion. We have asked the service to treat this as a matter
of urgency and will provide a final response as soon as we can. Thank for
your continued patience.
 
Regards
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Birmingham City Council,
I have posted this FOI request regarding the processing of waste on a
public website for the purposes of addressing an issue which should have
been dealt with previously without requiring my intervention.Apart from
the issue of bin men threatening members of the public who upset their
corner cutting tactics,which I have chosen not to pursuit further, there
appears to be a disgraceful lack of genuine concern by the Local Authority
in failing to support the community, by leaving them in a state of
ignorance of what is right or wrong.I see people`s wheelie bins out on
collection day and note that their behaviour is a shambles, with unrinsed
containers and all sorts of odd items contaminating the recycling bins yet
the Council don`t seem genuinely bothered.Whilst I await completion of my
request simply PLEASE CONFIRM who is actually dealing with it and what is
their estimated ETA, and please confirm where the recycling waste is
currently sent for sorting and which firm holds the contract, and if the
firm have imposed any penalties, or rejected the recycling, because of
excessive contamination of the contents. This intermediate clarification
is not a new request, it simply requires a few words of explanation of the
current situation.The public have a right to know if the recycling is
being sent for incineration or landfill for financial reasons, because the
council seem unconcerned about the quality of the recycling and make no
effort to educate the public.I have allowed a generous 2 months for the
request to be completed,I am sorry to appear so annoyed,I have
demonstrated considerable tolerance and patience, but I am concerned about
the ongoing pollution of the environment and the little effort being made
to educate the public on how they can help.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon(BScHons)

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Fallon

Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with a response
to your information request. Whilst we strive to respond to all the
information requests we receive in a timely manner, sometimes this isn't
possible.

We will endeavour to provide you with a response as soon as possible.

 

Regards

Information Governance

Neighbourhoods Directorate

Birmingham City Council

 

 

BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #682320 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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Dear Birmingham City Council,
You are the largest Local Authority in Europe yet appear to not have a clearly defined method of working regarding the sorting and disposal of waste and have, to date,made no effort to educate the residents regarding best practices or occurences which cause problems which,if reduced,would lead to improved efficiency,cost savings and environmental protection.Flytipping in my local streets of fridges, matresses, furniture and bags of waste is a common occurence and yet I read in the media of childish behaviour from Authorities in refusing to take recyling from people trying to their best, due to a trace of liquid in a drinks bottle, or a pensioner putting an aluminium composite tablet foil in their recycling bin.It is pretty demoralising to see the attitude of the people allegedly in charge.Sorry to hit you in the face with the saucepan of reality but I live in an area where the new society have different standards from the previous generation and something needs to be done.You have not identified,as per my last email,who is actually dealing with my request but I expect a totally honest answer eventually, for the public record,as to what currently happens to the garbled recycling as I suspect that it has very little recycling value due to heavy cross contamination and adverse market forces and may be going to landfill or being burnt.The truth may be hard to face but unless it is faced unacceptable situations may exist through ignorance.
Seriously,I have shown a lot of patience and tried not to be too insulting but I really would expect completion before the end of January 2021 to be a maximum reasonable allowance.

Yours sincerely,
Dennis Fallon (BScHons)

Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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Dear Dennis Fallon
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 6 August 2020.
Please accept our apologies in the delay in responding.
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours faithfully
 

Information Governance Team

Neighbourhoods Directorate         

Birmingham City Council       
 
 
 
 
Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
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of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
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Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
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Dear Birmingham City Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Birmingham City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Corruption,attitude,and intimidation within waste refuse collection service'.
I have posted this request on a public website so that your response will not be wasted on a single person but will benefit a much wider population who sadly, through the failure of the Council,remain ignorant of the best way to help the Council operations and environmental protection, and the evidence of your response seems to show you don`t really care.I would like to appeal your response to Q1,how to deal with a VERY small amount of chipboard(circa 1kg) in a REASONABLE manner and the response is unreasonable in that use a car to drive to the tip for this tiny amount, no consideration that many people have no car, no consideration that it is illegal to walk into the site on foot to dispose of small amounts.Reference Q2 .I have no appeal, you confirm the driver was stroppy and out of order to refuse perspex waste.Reference Q4, I would appeal that although I have asked very simple questions regarding penalties and procedures, which could be answered very easily,the respondant has been extremely churlish to say they don`t have to bother to generate an answer so `look it up yourself`in the links provided and find the answer as it`s amongst the mass of legislation there.I have tried to search but life is too short to sift through the haystack looking for the needle of information.I wish to appeal that The Council is unhelpfully churlish.Reference Q5,I do not wish to appeal the disgraceful situation regarding the Council failing to monitor the level and costs of additional call outs, encoraged by the existing policies,as obviously the Council don`t care.Reference Q8, although you confirm that the waste team are highly paid with minimum wages of £26,999 for the truck driver,£20,444 for waste collector, and £18,065 for the loader you only confirm the overall costs of waste collection 2019/2020 to be £18.56 million when I requested a breakdown to include cost of new vehicles etc.Please provide a breakdown of all the costs which comprise this £18.56 million, including costs related to vehicles(purchase,rental, fuel etc) and premises , wages and overtime, and miscellaneous,so that we can comprehend how this massive amount gets expended.I particularly object to the response to Q7, how to dispose of items to improve recycling,where the answer is `we don`t have to bother`which I interpret to demonstrate a total lack of integrity and complete blissful ignorance from those responsible for running the service.Can they even confirm how recycled waste is dealt with, on the basis of their disinterested answer there is a suspicion that it goes to landfill or is burnt so it doesn`t really matter.I would appreciate a review of all the points mentioned.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Dennis Fallon(BScHons)

Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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Dear Dennis Fallon
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 15 February 2021. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
 
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 15 March 2021.
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
Corporate Information Governance Team
Digital & Customer Services
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
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email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
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of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
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legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
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Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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Dear Mr Fallon
 
i am writing further to your email dated 15 February 2021 for the seeking
a review of the decision of the City Council in relation to your request.

Request:

I am a Council Taxpayer within your remit and have received appallingly
bad service from the refuse collection team which allegedly serves our
area. Our last recycling bin and paper waste, including everyone on one
side of our road only, was not collected on the due day on 23rd July but
has been finally collected today 6th August. Of course this is annoying,
but perhaps understandable if there are logistics issues so I didn`t
complain, however I have had two serious issues with the household waste
collection.

The first issue is that, last week on 30th July, a big intimidating fellow
with attitude problems refused to take my half empty bin because I had put
3 pieces of chipboard about 12 inchs square on top of my small black bag
within the wheelie bin. On observing this miscollection I wheeled the bin
down the pavement after him and asked him what was the problem, he said he
was rejecting the bin because the rubbish was contaminated with wood. I
said chipboard wasn`t really wood or recyclable, and he argued back by
involving a member of the public standing on their doorstep and saying
"chipboard isn`t wood, is it luv?" or words very much to that effect.

Being a respectful and civilized person I didn`t argue in front of
everyone, I just wheeled the bin home.To-day,6th August 2020, I put my bin
out, obviously full with 2 weeks worth of waste in but with the lid still
down, and stood on my doorstep to see that it was taken. The same big
fellow as the previous week came along, lifted the lid, and walked away as
if to leave it. I quickly approached him and said" what`s wrong now?"and
he said he was not taking it because there was 3 small pieces of clear
perspex on top of the contents, so it was contaminated with recyclables. I
said Perspex was a hard plastic and not allowed in recyclable bin, and
said he hadn`t put a refusal sticker on the bin, whereupon he went to the
lorry a fetched a refusal tag. I said I thought he was being unreasonable,
but he just walked away, and as he walked away he called back to his
colleage"Oi, what is the number of that house I have just tagged?"

FOI Q1.Based on my evidential statement, is it correct that the 3 small
pieces of chipboard are classed by the Council as "wood" and therefore
contaminate the waste and, if so, how am I supposed to dispose of this
small amount of waste in a reasonable manner?

FOIQ2.Based on my evidential statement, is it correct that the 3 small
pieces of hard clear Perspex are classed as recyclable and, if so, why
does your website say that it is not?

FOIQ3.Based on my witness statement, if I feel that the big fellow with
bad attitude is not a good representation of a Council employee and has
indirectly made threats, causing me alarm and distress, by asking his
assistant to confirm my house number, what is the procedure to have him
reprimanded for causing intimidation and being disrespectful and not doing
his job properly in unreasonably refusing to collect rubbish? 

FOIQ4.When are penalty charges applicable if a wheelie bin is left outside
of a property and what is the penalty charge?

FOI Q5.Reference the alleged corruption aspect, I suspect that the big
fellow is creating additional costs and work for his fellow staff by
encouraging callouts, please advise how many refused collections have been
recorded in the past 12 calendar months to establish if a conspiracy is in
effect.

FOIQ6.WIhat training or education do Waste Services Employees(WSE`S) see
or receive in dealing with the public how often is the training repeated,
does the Council make referrals available for Anger Management Courses or
Councelling of any kind?

FOIQ7.As a separate attachment which can be printed off and shown to any
bin man, please produce a spreadsheet, or pdf etc, with an item
description in the first column, and in the second column an acceptability
criteria in terms of quantity or other factor of unpleasantness or, if
totally unacceptable, the alternative means of disposal for those who have
no car. The spreadsheet should include all the items currently displayed
on your website, and expand upon the unacceptably vague term `soiled
paper` to include explain about wallpaper and various wrapping papers etc,
and explain about why you can`t recycle drink glasses and what to do with
broken sheets of glass, and examples of what items are classed as hard
plastics, and what to do with plastic bowls and buckets, and damaged metal
saucepans, metal coathangers, electrical items and lightbulbs, soiled
nappies and waste meat and bones after religious festivals. I object to
the Birmingham default option now being `over the fence`, especially with
the encoragement of rats ,but the people may not understand and this
aspect is a failure of the council and the so called community leaders.

FOI Q8.Please advise the current annual salary, holiday entitlement, hours
of work and job title of the 3 person crew of the standard household
refuse lorry, the rate of overtime pay(if any),and for the past financial
year the financial cost of running the waste management system in terms of
salaries and overtime paid, and other costs including the purchase of
vehicles.

A panel was convened on 23 February 2021 and in deliberating its decision,
the panel gave consideration to:

* The original request
* Response provided by the directorate
* Submission from the applicant

The panel have considered the request and the response provided by the
service area and agreed the service area responded correctly with the
information held.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, allows a requestor access to information that is held by
a local authority. There is no obligation on the authority to reproduce
information which is already in the public domain and can be easily
accessed by an individual.

In response to the submission and information supplied see below the
additional links:

The panel reviewed the response to Question 4, which refers to penalty
charges, this information can be located under section 46 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990, which can be found on the link below:

[1]#

In relation to the information sought in Question 8 - financial
information relating to cost of delivering domestic refuse collection,
recycling and waste services can be found on the Council's website on the
link below:

[2]Birmingham City Council Final Statement of Accounts 2019 to 2020 |
Birmingham City Council

The panel has not upheld your appeal. 

If you are not content with the outcome of this Internal Review you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office for a
further decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedon...
 
Helpline on 0303 123 1113
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
Mr Malkiat Thiarai
Head of Corporate Information Management Governance
Digital & Customer Services
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
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use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/foiextract20210303-8006-kklj9o#
2. https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/downloads/...

hide quoted sections

Dear Birmingham City Council, thank for taking my appeal seriously by conducting a panel review. My interpretation of your decision is that the Council are making no effort to explain to the public how to deal with waste, and I consider this to be a neglect of duty and a bit shameful. You have asked me to chase up some answers myself, which I shall do in due course. A recent Dispatches TV investigation advised that some Councils are actually burning recycling contents to meet PFI contracts to supply incinerators. To close this FOI request please confirm what actually happens to the recycling waste, where is it sent to for sorting and does it generate revenue, and what proportion of if, if any, is sent directly for incineration instead of recycling. Thank you in anticipation of clarifying these final questions.
Yours sincerely,

Dennis Fallon BSc Hons

Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Fallon
 
Further to your email below, we will treat the following as a new request
and the service area will respond to your within the statutory timescales:
 
Please confirm what actually happens to the recycling waste, where is it
sent to for sorting and does it generate revenue, and what proportion of
if, if any, is sent directly for incineration instead of recycling.
 
Regards
Corporate Information Governance Team

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Dear Birmingham City Council, thank for taking my appeal seriously by
conducting a panel review. My interpretation of your decision is that the
Council are making no effort to explain to the public how to deal with
waste, and I consider this to be a neglect of duty and a bit shameful. You
have asked me to chase up some answers myself, which I shall do in due
course. A recent Dispatches TV investigation advised that some Councils
are actually burning recycling contents to meet PFI contracts to supply
incinerators. To close this FOI request please confirm what actually
happens to the recycling waste, where is it sent to for sorting and does
it generate revenue, and what proportion of if, if any, is sent directly
for incineration instead of recycling. Thank you in anticipation of
clarifying these final questions.
Yours sincerely,

Dennis Fallon BSc Hons

-----Original Message-----

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 16856421
Your reference: [FOI #682320 email]

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BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
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of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
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Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 22649585

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr Fallon
 
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 23 March
2021, concerning recycling waste.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 and we aim to send a response by 19 April 2021.
 
In some cases, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we
will send you a fees notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
 
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 may restrict the release of
some or all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an
assessment and if any exceptions apply to some or all of the information
then we might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if
this is the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal
review and to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
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addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
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dennis fallon left an annotation ()

There is something seriously wrong about the attitude of those employed to deal with recycling. They appear to have no interest in doing a good job, just pretending. Radio WM today had a representative of the Recycling Association saying Local Councils waste 50 million pounds each year through bad recycling. Don't worry, it's only the environment and Council resources being affected.

Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 22649585

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr Fallon
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 22 March 2021.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Information Governance Team
Neighbourhoods Directorate
Birmingham City Council
 
 
 
Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
 
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

hide quoted sections

Dear Birmingham City Council, Thank you for completing my request but I wish to comment that, as one of the largest local authorities in Europe, I consider your communications attitude and level of service to be a disgrace, you ought to be deeply ashamed.You have refused to provide any answer to question 7, the best way to help you deal with waste and recycling, because you just can`t be bothered as it is not compulsory under freedom of information, and there is no one of sufficient dedication or integrity to provide the response as a public service.Sorry to be so direct in providing my personal opinion,I have consulted other local authorities and their information provided to the public is massively detailed and helpful.You don`t seem to realise the quality service that should and could be provided.You really don`t appear to care about doing a good job, you don`t appear to really care about recycling or the environment and it is no surprise at all that flytipping is considered by many to be a realistic option.The detail that other authorities supply to their residents shows that they operate to genuine principled standards, they even recommend detail such as milk bottles should be flattened to aid efficient recycling but I haven`t a clue if that is Birmingham`s policy as well.I really am sorry to be so blunt, you are probably not used to getting proper feedback from the end users,my comments are evidenced based and I presume the source of the failures exists at the leadership level who decide the policies.Thank you for attending to my request, this request is now closed.

Yours sincerely,

Dennis Fallon BSc Hons