No saving from green bin charge

At a meeting of Warwickshire County Council on Thursday 26 July 2018, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Eastlands) asked about the financial impact of the green bin charge in Rugby.

Councillor Roodhouse put his question to the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Heritage & Culture asking what the financial impact is for the County Council of Rugby Borough Council charging for green waste collection and what actions the County Council is taking.

He also asked whether the Portfolio Holder would confirm how much Rugby Borough Council gets in recycling credits from the County Council.

The Portfolio Holder replied stating that the net impact on Warwickshire County Council was £360,000 in 2017/18 and that the County Council was in discussion with Rugby Borough Council to look at ways of mitigating their costs and were also in discussion with the other four District and Borough Councils to discuss options to ensure waste is managed in the most efficient and environmentally sound way.

The Portfolio Holder added that the overall value of the credits paid to Rugby Borough Council in 2017/18 was £473,781, but this was not just green waste, but all recycled waste. In addition, the Portfolio Holder said over half of the residual waste in the bin of average householder can be recycled and that the majority of this is food waste and he called upon members to sign up to the waste charter and to champion projects to reduce waste.

At a full meeting of Rugby Borough Council on 7 February 2017, Rugby Liberal Democrats voted against plans to start charging residents £40 for a green bin from April - a move that sees only garden waste collected and not food waste as the service previously provided. Rugby Liberal Democrats remain opposed to the green bin charge and continue to propose alternative solutions.

Commenting, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Eastlands), said:

"Whilst the money raised from the green bin charge goes towards funding other services, recycling and waste slip down the Council's agenda. Rugby residents have been given no alternative but to sign up and they deserve better. It's time the Conservative administration listened and reversed this badly thought out policy."

Warwickshire County Council Minutes 26 July 2018 https://democratic.warwickshire.gov.uk/cmis5/CalendarofMeetings/tabid/128/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/645/Meeting/4198/Committee/457/Default.aspx