Plans by South Gloucestershire Council to reduce the frequency of black bin collections are ‘flawed’, ‘short-sighted’ and will ‘leave a stink’ for residents, Conservative councillors say.
The opposition Conservative Group on the council has criticised plans by the joint Lib Dem/Labour administration to move to three-weekly black bin collections in order to increase recycling rates.
At 60%, the council’s current recycling rate is one of the best in the country, and the Lib Dem/Labour administration in charge of the council has claimed that there is no other viable option to increase recycling rates without moving to three-weekly collections.
But the Conservative Group believes this is completely misguided. Rather than creating enormous problems for residents by moving to three-weekly collections, the administration should work with residents to encourage them to recycle more.
Better public engagement and a dedicated communications campaign are better ways to improve recycling rates, the Conservative Group says, than making radical changes to the frequency of black bin collections.
Cllr Kris Murphy, Conservative ward councillor for Longwell Green, said: “Reducing black bin collections to three-weekly will leave a stink for residents in South Glos. If the administration wants to improve recycling rates, it does not need to introduce three-weekly collections to do that – it just needs to engage with residents.”
“Reducing black bin collections to as little as once a month is simply not an acceptable level of service. Residents pay their fair share of council tax and should expect a minimum standard of service.”
Cllr Sam Bromiley, Leader of the Conservative Group and ward member for Parkwall and Warmley, said: “Three-weekly collections will be almost impossible for large families who already recycle all their waste, use a lot of nappies and have no extra room to spare in their black bin. The reduced frequency of collections could also mean that bins will be left to overflow, resulting in foul smells, more vermin and a potential public health crisis. Quite simply, these plans are flawed and short-sighted."
Following a public engagement exercise on the proposals earlier this year, residents raised a number of serious concerns around a move to three-weekly collections. They were: the lack of free space in their black bins, hygiene and pollution issues, increased nuisances from wildlife and other negative public health impacts.
The Conservative Group shares these concerns from residents and is calling on the administration to ditch plans to move to three-weekly collections and to improve recycling rates through better public engagement instead.
