Rugby Liberal Democrats vote against £40 green bin charge
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 this year - a move that will see only garden waste collected and not food waste as the service currently provides.
Rugby Liberal Democrats tabled a motion which would have seen the green waste collection service continue for everyone for another 12 months whilst a solution is found for the sustainability and longevity of the service.
Commenting, Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, said:
"There is a better way and a majority of Councillors decided not to take it. Rugby Liberal Democrats first raised the issue of redesigning green bin services in 2007 to make it more efficient and cost effective. Our calls were continually ignored by the Conservatives who have ran Rugby Council for the past 15 years.
"Furthermore, the decision to first suspend the service over Christmas, then reintroduce it as well as send out a poorly worded survey to residents - with many still not having received one - has caused confusion and unnecessary disruption to the community."
Commenting, Cllr Tim Douglas, said:
"This process has been badly thought out from the start and the issue should have been looked at a long time ago. From the survey responses we know that a majority of residents said they would not continue to use the service if a charge was introduced and the indications from other local councils who have introduced green waste are that fly-tipping and residual waste will increase. Councillors were asked to weigh up the popularity and benefits of this decision and this has clearly been ignored."
Notes to Editor
Rugby Borough Council 7th February
Liberal Democrat Proposed amendment item 7 A
Redesign of waste services.
Delete numbers 1,2,3,4,
Replace with
1. Move to an edge of Highway collection point for all properties as soon as possible in order to save £170,000.
2. Request that the Waste Disposal Authority increases the refund on recycling credits to this Borough by at least £100,000 in 2017/18.
3. The Council conducts a community engagement and education programme across the Borough in regard to recycling and waste reduction.
4. A contribution from General Fund Balances of at least £130,000 is made in 2017/18 in order to achieve a balanced budget.
Keep recommendation 5 and amend recommendation 6 to include;
6. The Council continues to work with partners within the Warwickshire Waste Partnership (and others) to explore options to reduce waste costs that include extracting higher value recyclable materials.