UPDATE

News we got yesterday suggests that the ruling Labour Group in Stockport have seen sense and also rejected the costly idea of replacing the black bins.    Thanks to all who wrote in to support us in this!

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Stockport Liberal Democrats are opposing Labour plans for black residual waste bins to only be collected every three weeks.

Update: Black Bin Survey can here found here

At its Meeting on Tuesday 4th October the Labour Executive will be considering a draft business case to change the black bin “residual waste” collections across Stockport.

Speaking about this proposal, Cllr Iain Roberts, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Stockport Council said: “When we introduced the current waste collection and recycling system in Stockport we promised residents that food waste would be collected weekly and that the potentially smelly black bin waste would be collected fortnightly. Now the current Labour administration want to change this.

“We are very concerned that this proposal will cause inconvenience to our residents, will see an increase in fly-tipping and spilled waste from over-full bins as well as smelly bins through the summer months which will only be collected every third week.

“We are not convinced that these changes will lead to more recycling and we do not believe that they will save money. The risks of increased fly-tipping is even acknowledged in the draft business case, though the controls on this through communications and enforcement are not costed.”

Cllr Mark Hunter, Liberal Democrat Shadow member for the services including waste collection, said: “It is only five years ago that all households were given a brand new black bin as part of a well thought out, comprehensive recycling scheme. Now all the existing black bins are to be disposed of and the council plans to buy 123,000 slightly larger and more expensive ones, to be delivered to every household next year.

“Despite still being one of the best in the country, Stockport’s recycling rate has dipped but the answer is to invest in the recycling team who did so well to support Stockport residents through the initial roll out in 2011. By working again with primary schools to make our children act as recycling champions and by providing targeted support, we believe that keeping the existing waste collection system is the best way to get our recycling rates back up to the very top levels.

“This is an entirely wrong-headed approach which, at best, represents a massive gamble of an established and successful service and, at worst, is a reckless waste of council tax payers’ money.”

Details of the proposals can be found here:

http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/s102610/Business%20Case%20Waste%20-%20adjustment%20to%20residual%20waste%20collections.pdf

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