In his first post for Conservative Home, Roger Scruton, Tory philosopher and former Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck, joins the debate on wheelie bins.
My views on wheelie bins: major objection to them is that they encourage people to make more waste, since they are of large capacity and make disposal of waste look easy. Second objection, they are made of non-biodegradable plastic and so are in the long run a huge accumulation of waste in themselves. Third objection, that they are ugly in shape, colour and proportions, as well as materials, and inevitably form a kind of visual pollution when assembled in front of houses.
On the other hand, if people object to them, they can always dispose of their own waste, as we do in America, by taking it to the dump.
Preferred solution: smaller wheelie bins, made out of wood, designed by Leon Krier or Quinlan Terry, embossed with the council coat of arms.
