‘Persistence is the driving force behind enduring success’

Dear SMAG Member,

We had a very good second annual general meeting of the SMAG membership, with 30-35 Members attending, last Thursday. All the issues raised a year ago are still issues today and members feel that the need for change is getting more urgent. A conservation area littered with rubbish hubs (…and rubbish!) is not where they want to live.

For those that missed the meeting

The focus of the meeting was on the need for Members, those that want to see a change to Bin Hubs on their street, to focus on the new CEC rules and to make a well-reasoned proposal for change. We are hoping that Members will use the SMAG livery to present their case since we feel that being part of this larger group should definitely strengthen their position with Councillors and Staff. It was clear, in our meeting, that the emotional energy we give each other is powerful, and should carry through to action on the part of the Council.

The CEC Bin Hub Review starts in June and so we advise Members to get their submissions in at the latest by Mid-May with copies to their Councillors. The worst thing for SMAG would be a low incidence of submissions for change….

SO PLEASE GET GOING AND THE YOUR SUBMISSIONS IN….. IN GOOD TIME:

Applications to move / change Bin-Hubs should be made to:

Anne Christie,
Project Officer,
The City of Edinburgh Council,
Communal Bin Review Team,
Waste and Cleansing Services,
Seafield Depot,
1 Fillyside Road
Edinburgh
EH7 6RD.

[email protected] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

More information about the Communal Bin Review is on the CEC webpage at the link below.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/bins-recycling/communal-bin-review

For SMAG, it is important for us to have information on all applications made, so that we can assess the progress we are making.

Please report your submission to [email protected]

For your guidance, we attach to this newsletter:

• A pdf copy of the presentation shown in the meeting
• A word copy of SMAG submission form
• A pdf copy of SMAG notes for the new CEC rules

Future Activities

One of the major issues NOT being tackled in the current CEC changes is the issue of noise, particularly from Glass Hubs. The Council is only currently reviewing the location and number of Bin Hubs; they are promising a review of Glass (and other Noise) but there are no details of this yet.

All parties accept that the level on noise is unacceptable and at times loud enough to be illegal by any normal industrial limits. So it is clear the SMAG still has work to do in this area and we will revert with our plans later in the year, once we are sure that the CEC Review of existing Hubs is well under way, with positive results for Members.

The SMAG website

The website www.smagsco.org is our official site which provides information on campaigns, including minutes of meetings and announcements of future meetings. It is under development and will soon have a sign-up page for announcements and information on how to get involved. We welcome any photographs or information that you would like to share which can be sent to [email protected].

Next Committee Meeting

Our next SMAG Committee meeting will be in Mid-May. Any thoughts / ideas you may have should be emailed to [email protected]

New Members

It is clear that working together does have an impact. Please spread the word to recruit new members to SMAG. Things should be easier once we have our website up and running. We are also looking for new Committee Members – COULD YOU VOLUNTEER?

Reporting Bin Hub Abuse

Here is the web link to the CEC Bin Complaints section:

• Complaints procedure about bin abuse (overloading/fly tipping etc.) https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/communalbin

Keep us Informed

If you have any views you wish to share with the Committee, please contact us by email

to – [email protected]

Many thanks for your support

Kate, Alastair, June, Silke & Nick