Douglas Council moved to fortnightly collections as it sought to improve recycling rates in the capital, though the move has proved controversial with some residents.
The petition on Change.org says that the change was made ‘without properly considering the health and welfare of the residents of Douglas’.
Click here to see the petition.
The council did engage with the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture in this regard and so far the department says it has not had an increase in report of rodents since the change was made.
The petition adds: ‘Moreover, the council failed to conduct impact studies which properly considered the impact that a reduction in service would have on the wellbeing of Douglas residents and the environment, having instead relied on generic studies conducted elsewhere in the world.’
Laying the blame on council leader Claire Wells and councillor Folk Horning, despite 11 of the 12 council members voting the for change in policy, the petition has called on the council to ‘either reinstate the weekly bin collection schedule with immediate effect or for Councillor[s] Wells and Horning to resign’.
While no public consultation was taken prior to this change, something which drew criticism from MHKs and residents as the council just pointed out it didn’t have to, Mrs Wells did say at a public meeting last year that the policy would be reviewed after a year.