📢 SHOULD BBC LONDON BE LOOKING AT THIS? 📢
Today is not just about wheelie bins.
It is about how decisions affecting thousands of residents are made.
I've now received Hillingdon Council's formal response to the petition opposing the approved changes to the Garden Waste Service. The response rejects calls to pause or reconsider the decision and confirms the Council intends to proceed.
What is striking, however, is that despite several pages of explanation, the response still does not address what many residents see as the central issue:
Why was there no public consultation before a significant borough-wide service change was approved?
Residents are now being told that:
🔹 Weekly collections will become fortnightly.
🔹 Households will have to switch from sacks to wheelie bins.
🔹 Residents who need more capacity will need to pay for additional bins.
🔹 Implementation will proceed from April 2027.
Yet many residents first learned of these proposals after the decision had effectively been made.
The Council argues the changes are necessary to save approximately £800,000 per year. If so, surely the evidence underpinning such a significant change should be open to public scrutiny and discussion.
Regardless of whether you support or oppose wheelie bins, most people would agree that residents should have the opportunity to be consulted before major changes to local services are decided.
📧 PLEASE CONTACT BBC LONDON
If you share these concerns, consider contacting BBC London and asking them to investigate why such a significant service change was approved without a borough-wide consultation.
BBC London 📧 yourlondon@bbc.co.uk
☎️ 020 7765 1064
Suggested Message
I am a Hillingdon resident concerned about the Council's decision to introduce fortnightly garden waste collections and wheelie bins from 2027.
While the Council has defended the decision on financial grounds, many residents feel they were never given the opportunity to comment before the changes were approved.
A petition challenging the decision has now been rejected and residents are questioning why there was no public consultation on a service change affecting thousands of households.
We believe this issue warrants public scrutiny and would ask BBC London to investigate.
WHY MEDIA COVERAGE MATTERS
Public scrutiny is not about blocking change.
It is about ensuring decisions are transparent, evidence-based and accountable.
If the Council's case is as strong as it believes, it should welcome independent examination of:
✅ The claimed savings
✅ The alternatives considered
✅ The consultation process
✅ The impact on residents with limited storage space
✅ The practical implications for households across the borough
The more residents who raise the issue, the more likely it is that local and regional media will take notice.
Whatever your view on wheelie bins, do you believe residents should have been consulted before this decision was approved? Let BBC London know what you think. #Hillingdon #Ruislip #GardenWaste #BBCLondon #LocalDemocracy #ResidentsFirst #Transparency #ConsultResidents