Bangers and Gnash

Brits raise a fuss over less-frequent rubbish collection

Baffled Brits are raising a stink over a policy that's become popular with local councils in their country: collecting trash every two weeks instead of weekly. Enacted by about 40 percent of councils, the practice -- which alternates the pick-up of trash and recyclables -- aims to encourage recycling and meet an E.U. goal of lessening landfill burdens. But horrified householders say the two-week lag lures flies, maggots, and rats to their trash piles, posing a public-health risk as well as being flat-out foul. Now these critics have the backing of a House of Commons committee, which released a report saying that the increasingly common method is "clearly not appropriate to all areas, particularly highly urban areas characterized by much shared accommodation." The committee also heaped scorn upon a government plan to offer financial incentives for recycling, suggesting that a complicated system of taxes and rewards could lead to protests, and called for more study on the whole revolting topic.