Letter: Systems should cater for people

I do hope that the change to the refuse collection system proves to be a success as the consequences of failure are disastrous. Putting to one side questions concerning what some people will consider as a flawed strategy, I do hope that we won’t live to regret the change as has happened in Peterborough.

The local authority has a similar waste collection system to that used in Horsham, except that they also collect food waste.

The council reported more than 4,000 incidents in fly tipping in 2017 and a problem, which shows what else can go wrong.

It’s been found that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been attending around 22 fires / month in Peterborough where fly tipped waste has been deliberately set on fire.

There’s also the problem of missed collections, which need to be considered.

We are told that we can report a missed collection and, provided that it’s reported within 24 hours of the missed collection, collection will be arranged within 48 hours.

That’s all very well but what happens if the waste is collected on a Friday and the people concerned are at work and don’t return home until after the customer services team telephone line is closed?

Surely, it’s impossible for those people to comply with the reporting system and they will have to wait for another two weeks before their waste is collected.

It’s all very well having these black and white paper systems but systems should cater for the people, who rely on them if they are to be a success.

David Moore

Swindon Road, Horsham