Rye deserves better

Rye has become, at times, a rather shabby sight in the evenings and early mornings because of the overflowing bins. People, locals and visitors, leave their rubbish on the pavement because the bins are overflowing as they are too small and not bird-proof. It is mainly outside the town’s restaurants, cafes and shops and the seagulls easily tear the rubbish apart to nibble on leftover food on the floor.

I asked our MP Helena Dollimore to help to make Rye a cleaner and tidier place by pushing Rother District Council to provide larger and bird-proof bins. The council spokesperson said, “We keep matters on bin provisions under review and will consider the requests where there is evidence of need and suitable location. Public bins are intended for small amounts of litter and not for household waste.”

 

The pictures are surely evidence enough, especially compared to the new bins at Strand Quay installed by the Environment Agency which have changed the area. The new larger and seagull-proof bins have made a big difference. Hastings and St Leonards have had money for rejuvenating parts of those towns, so why not Rye?

But maybe it is also time for everyone who sells food to take responsibility too? And for visitors and locals, when the bin is full perhaps find somewhere else for your rubbish!

The new bins on The Strand also get the approval of Christine King:

I would like to say a big thank you to whoever decided to replace the old waste bins on the quayside with the lovely new ones. The herring gulls are now unable to retrieve the waste once it is inside the bins and this means rubbish is no longer strewn about the place as it was in the past.

It also seems to have had the knock-on effect of reducing the number of gulls cadging food from unsuspecting tourists. The whole area looks so much better. Well done.

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