{"id":369290,"date":"2025-08-24T08:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/369290\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T08:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:08:15","slug":"residents-split-on-changes-to-streets-where-seagulls-takeover-to-s-and-screech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/369290\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents split on changes to streets where seagulls takeover to ‘s*** and screech’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sefton Council has implemented a new new waste collection strategy it hopes will improve neighbourhoods around Bootle<\/p>\n

08:27, 24 Aug 2025Updated 09:02, 24 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

\"JanetteJanette Smith, 64, has lived in Bootle all her life and moved into her currently property two years ago(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Residents in Bootle say seagulls have taken over their street to \u2018screech and s***\u2019, but they are split on changes designed to address the problem. Sefton<\/a> Council\u2019s new \u2018sacks to wheelie bins\u2019 project<\/a> has now been implemented and is available to hundreds of homes in Bootle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The local authority said the new waste service will take 100,000s of black bins bags off the streets. \u2018Sacks to bins\u2019 refers to a waste management initiative used by local councils to transition from using plastic sacks \u2013 or bags for household waste collection \u2013 to using wheeled bins.<\/p>\n

Sefton Council has already delivered new brown recycling and grey general waste wheelie bins to a number of households across Derby Ward and hopes the change will help make those streets cleaner and safer<\/a>. Those new bin deliveries began on Friday August 15 and collections started on Wednesday August 20 when the Liverpool ECHO<\/a> visited local residents to hear their feedback.<\/p>\n

Beatrice Street resident, Jimmy, is in his 60s now and has lived in his house for more than 40 years. Jimmy said the first wheelie bin collection went well and thinks it\u2019s a good idea, but said the narrowness of the road is an issue, he said: \u201cThe problem is, people are at work, and the wheelie bins are left out until they get back.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew wheelie bins have been rolled out in some parts of Bootle(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is forced to partly park on the pavement because of the road being so narrow, so when the wheelie bins are left out it\u2019s hard to get past. I do prefer the wheelie bins to the old way because on bin days it was just seagulls galore on this street and they\u2019d just take over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are up on the cars, doing their business and screeching really loudly. You\u2019d scare them off but they fly right back down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many other people the ECHO<\/a> spoke to Jimmy said he would have considered the trial of seagull-proof sacks, but didn\u2019t know it was an option, he added: \u201cI can see the sense in it because the wheelie bins are a bit of an eyesore, but then again it\u2019s likely the seagulls would still come with the sacks trying their luck.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these wheelie bins they\u2019ve got no chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ECHO<\/a> spoke to a number of people who are delighted with the new service and said the process went as smoothly as possible during the first collection round. However, a number of residents expressed concerns about storing the wheelie bins and getting them out on the street.<\/p>\n

Janette Smith, 64, has lived in Bootle all her life and moved into her current property two years ago. Janette said she loves the area and is pleased some of the waste management issues are being addressed by Sefton Council, but is worried she won\u2019t be able to manage rolling out two large wheelie bins.<\/p>\n

\"JeanetteJeanette Smith, 64, has lived in Bootle all her life and moved into her currently property two years ago(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Janette\u2019s house has a small pathway to the door which is now blocked by a large grey bin and has two other wheelie bins stationed over a wall, she said: \u201cThese stupid things are no good. I had two of them on my step so I couldn\u2019t shut my gate and my dog got out. Luckily I grabbed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t lift them over my garden wall because they\u2019re too heavy so I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do. \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere for me to push them into the garden. My husband nearly done himself in trying to lift them over the other day.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are already leaving them on the pavement because they haven\u2019t got the room, so then it\u2019s impossible to walk up and down the street. These streets are too small for these massive bins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathy Gaynor has lived on Beatrice Street for the last 16 years and is also worried about managing and moving the large bins, she said: \u201cI came down this morning and couldn\u2019t find my bin because the bin men had scattered them everywhere and you can\u2019t tell which is which. So when I got mine back I\u2019ve had to paint my number on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they look unsightly, stuck in your front like this, they\u2019re horrible. I\u2019m not a well woman and I can just about get up and down these days, never mind lugging these wheelie bins about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewNew wheelie bins have been rolled out in some parts of Bootle(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Responding to the alternative possibility of seagull-proof-sacks, Kathy said: \u201cI think we should have been given them first to see how we got on, but at the same time, I\u2019m glad they won\u2019t be around here on bin days anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cllr Peter Harvey, Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Street Scene, said: \u201cI spoke with residents on collection day and the response to the wheelie-bin service was overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also striking how tidy the streets were thanks to pavements not being littered by bin bags ripped by seagulls, rats, cats and dogs. We are here to help residents who may struggle to move their bins. If you need support, you can request an assessment through our assisted collection service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand residents\u2019 concerns about where to store their new bins. In most cases there is space at the front of properties, but if this is limited, most residents have access to rear alleyway entries, that can be used for bin storage.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these alleyways have been affected by dumped waste and fly-tipping, making storage difficult. That\u2019s why the Council has stepped up alleyway cleaning and enforcement since March, including prosecuting those who illegally dump rubbish. Our aim is to ensure alleyways remain clear and accessible for residents to use for their bin storage.<\/p>\n

\"KevinKevin Shields, from Sefton Council’s Waste Management & Street Cleansing team, delivers new wheelie bins to a resident in Derby ward in Bootle (Image: Handout)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese changes are already bringing real benefits, encouraging more recycling, reducing littering and helping to prevent fly-tipping, as well as stopping pests disturbing waste. The council is pleased that most residents in parts of Derby Ward are happy with the new service and are already seeing improvements in the cleanliness of the area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sefton Council has implemented a new new waste collection strategy it hopes will improve neighbourhoods around Bootle 08:27,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[2648,748,393,728,4884,179,12459,12460,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-369290","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-bootle","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-liverpool","14":"tag-sefton","15":"tag-sefton-council","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115082724016021745","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}