WHEELS of dumpsters set up across the country could soon be locked so that the bins are not moved around amidst brawls in the neighbourhood.
The Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry has approved the proposal by the Southern Municipal Council, after policemen had to be called in multiple times to resolve disputes between neighbours over dumpsters, with each of them claiming that it had to be stationed near their houses.
The plan is now being tested in new housing towns in partnership with the Housing and Urban Planning Ministry, it has emerged.
Councillors have also suggested setting up sockets for wheel-less dumpsters, which can then be lifted by cleaning firms using special equipment.
Cleaning companies distribute a dumpster each for a residential area of 30 homes and people are instructed to take their garbage at specific times, which are then emptied by workers into trucks.
“There are neighbours who have been at war for three decades or more over dumpsters with the hatred spilling over from one generation to another,” claimed council chairman Bader Al Tamimi.
“Every resident thinks that since the dumpster is located outside their doorstep, it is their property and no one else has the right to move it,” he added.
“It is public property and not intended for any family.
“There have been several instances when police had to be called in after fights and heated arguments broke out between neighbours over the use of wheelie bins.”
According to Mr Al Tamimi, the lock system will ensure dumpsters can be moved around only by cleaners.
“Dumpsters will either be locked with pins or fixed in specific pockets designed for the purpose,” he explained.
“Residents will not be able to move it around, claim it as their own or deny others from using it.”
Meanwhile, the council’s services and public utilities committee chairman Abdulla Abdullatif, who originally proposed the move, urged authorities to fast-track implementation of the project.
“I am glad the proposal is being successfully tested in new housing areas like Buhair, Salman Town, Khalifa Town and Al Ramli District amongst others, but again, brawls and fights still continue in old neighbourhoods,” he pointed out.
“There are limited spaces in some old areas and the government will have to come up with other innovative solutions to stop dumpsters from being stolen or moved around.”
Mr Abdullatif appealed to the Cabinet to order Gulf City Cleaning Company and Urbaser Bahrain to complete the project within a stipulated timeframe.
However, Capital Trustees Board chairman Saleh Tarradah indicated that the project would prove to be expensive for cleaning companies and time-consuming for workers.
“Cleaners need to be trained as they have to remove screws from wheels and put them back again within seconds after the bins are emptied,” he said.
“It will be more practical to fix wheel-less bins in sockets so that cleaning firms can just lift them out and empty them of waste.”
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