Tower Hamlets started a food waste reycling service last year. It was generally a good thing - put your food waste in a biodegradable bag and leave it for them to collect on bin day. From our point of view it meant that the regular bin in the kitchen was less smelly and moist, and also filled up a lot less quickly. A good thing all round, I would have thought.
But we ran out of the biodegradable bags, and no more were delivered. So I called Tower Hamlets to see if they would deliver some more bags for us. No. No, they won’t deliver any more bags. I have to visit a Tower Hamlets One-Stop Shop to collect some more.
Now, a One-Stop Shop is exactly what it says. It handles every sort of customer interaction that a local authority has to deal with. You arrive, and take a ticket, and sit in a waiting room to see a customer service advisor. Last time I had to go (to renew a resident’s parking permit) I waited for an hour although there were only four people ahead of me in the queue.
So I have to queue for an hour to get some more food waste recycling bags.
Yeah right.
I don’t think you’ve thought this one through have you, Tower Hamlets?