THE European Parliament will consider a petition from a campaigner to investigate the environmental and health effects of a fortnightly collection of household waste.
Doretta Cocks wrote to the European institution in January telling them: 'I am extremely concerned by the growing trend in the UK for local authorities to reduce the frequency of household perishable waste collections from once a week to once every two weeks.'
Mrs Cocks, who started the Campaign for Weekly Waste in her home town of Chandlers Ford in Eastleigh, received a reply last week from the European Parliament which had begun its 'examination' of her petition.
In a letter, Nino Gemelli, chairman of the European Parliament's committee on petitions, told Mrs Cocks that they had asked the European Commission 'to state its views on the various aspects of the problem'. He added: 'The committee will continue its examination of your petition as soon as it is in receipt of the necessary information. This petition will be examined in public.'
Mrs Cocks has been campaigning for three years against her own council's fortnightly collection scheme in the south of England.
In an interview with The Chronicle three weeks ago the housewife with a BSc in Environmental Sciences said she did not agree with 'waste sitting outside people's homes for 14 days'.
She wrote to the European Parliament: 'My concern is that the UK temperate climate is unsuitable for this method of refuse collection. Summer temperatures can reach in excess of 30 degrees and the rapid decomposition of organic waste contained within, or by the side of wheeled bins leads to offensive odours and attracts flies and vermin to our properties, thereby causing nuisance.
'The average contents of a residual waste bin includes waste meat and fish, waste vegetable matter, disposable nappies, non-infectious clinical waste and pet faeces. I would imagine levels of bacteria to be extremely high.'
She cited the results of a study by Scandinavian scientists published in the European Respiratory Journal which found that fortnightly collections allowed organic waste to degrade and putrefy. The short-term study found there was an increase of inflammation in the respiratory tract of refuse collectors over the course of the working week. The authors called for more research into long-term exposure, saying there was 'a possibility of accelerated lung function decline in the long run'.
Mrs Cocks added: 'I am dismayed to find that there is no UK legislation to cover frequency of domestic waste collection, nor has any study been carried out in the UK relating to potential risks to public health.'
