Fortnightly Wolverhampton bin collections are rubbished by MP
Fortnightly bin collections and charges for garden waste in Wolverhampton are 'ridiculous and short-sighted' and city councillors have been accused of not taking their neighbouring authorities into consideration.
That's the view of Gavin Williamson MP, who insists the changes to the service will result in more fly-tipping in the city and surrounding areas.
He is calling for a review of the decision, and plans on speaking to council leader Roger Lawrence about the issue.
The changes, which include a £35 charge for garden waste bins and the end of food waste 'slop buckets', were rubber-stamped at a full council meeting last week.
Mr Williamson said: "It's a really slippery slope which the city council are going down.
"It's an extra tax on waste which is going to have a detrimental impact on Wolverhampton and the surrounding areas.
"People are going to look at this and think it would be easier to fly-tip than pay the charge, and they won't just do it in Wolverhampton, they will fly-tip on bordering neighbourhoods.
"It just goes to show how grossly out of touch the city council is.
"People are going to be taxed for a service they should be getting for free. People pay their council tax and expect a basic level of service. They expect something in return for the money they pay.
"You understand if they have extra waste and being charged for that might be a bit more acceptable for people.
"But they shouldn't have to pay for the bins. Most councils up and down the country don't charge for green bins. In Staffordshire, people recycle more because they receive a high quality service from the council which makes it easier for them to do so.
"It's a very ridiculous and short-sighted policy. It seems a very unfair charge and I don't think they should be going down this route.
"I will be raising it with Roger Lawrence. I would hope the local authority would give this some consideration."
Mr Lawrence said that fly tipping cost the council around £400,000 last year, but insisted the savings from the changes to bin collections and new charges would save the authority £2.4million.
He said: "Going to fortnightly bin collections has been forced on us because the grant support that was previously there has been withdrawn."
"Food waste bins are no longer being subsidised by a government grant. To keep them going, we would have to take money from other areas.
"The garden waste service was a good service, but only 35 to 40 per cent of people used it, while all taxpayers paid for it."
