Green waste collection charge and paper waste bags spark concerns

The authority is considering a number of changes to the recycling and waste service it provides to residents.

One proposal is to introduce a £36 annual fee for collecting garden waste, which could come into force in 2021. The council has said that collecting garden waste is not a statutory service – and more than 60 per cent of local authorities across the country already charge residents to have grass cuttings removed.

Other plans include introducing a new blue bag for paper and cardboard waste.

Residents are currently asked to place cardboard in their mixed recycling blue bins, but it can be contaminated by other materials such as glass, which reduces its quality for selling on, the council has said. Cardboard and paper collected in the new blue bag would remain in the UK for processing.

On Monday Stafford Borough Council’s Resources Scrutiny Committee was shown examples of similar bags used in another authority’s waste collection scheme.

But concerns were raised about how older residents would lift and carry the bags from their homes for the kerbside collection.

Councillor Jonathan Price, cabinet member for environment, said this week: “If you are struggling we offer a scheme where we will pull out the bins and assist where required. This is a scheme we run already and we will help them.

“Introducing the blue bag will improve the quality of our collections – it’s about quality as well as quantity.”

The proposed green waste collection charge was also discussed at Monday’s meeting and at a full meeting of the council on Tuesday, where Councillor Godfrey submitted a question beforehand.

He asked: “Can the cabinet member for resources, or environment, please confirm that the proposed £36 annual charge for the collection of household green waste would be equal to a 23 per cent rise in council tax, based on a band D property? I also ask would this be on top of any other conventional rise in council tax the administration may want to impose?”

Councillor Ralph Cooke said: “Residents will be used to having the brown bin as part of the council tax. Would (the cabinet member) agree if any council tax payer demanded a partial refund on their council tax on a service they had paid for via council tax instead? Would he agree there would be some justification in their request for a partial refund?

Councillor Mike Smith, cabinet member for resources, responded: “The short answer is no. When the brown bin was introduced in 2008 the council tax went up that year by less than the inflation rate. We could have reduced the council tax by 20 per cent but we didn’t – we gave people a free brown bin service.”

He added that the percentage put forward by Councillor Godfrey was correct. He said: “This is not a council tax increase – the charge for a brown bin is entirely voluntary. You don’t have to take that up.

“(Councillor Godfrey) should also know the council considered tax increases for the next three years on December 8 2016 – that’s published in the Digest.”

Councillor Price said: “I’m hoping some people will be able to do home composting, which I would encourage anybody who is able to to do. Also, with the reduced amount of collections of brown bins there will be less lorry journeys, which will reduce carbon emissions.”

But Councillor Godfrey, speaking at Monday’s meeting, said: “People don’t want to pay an extra tax. I can see people not going for the brown bins and still mowing their lawns. What are we going to do with it all?

“People don’t have compost piles – it isn’t Ambridge (the fictional setting of rural radio drama The Archers). I expect there will be piles of grass.”