Anger at Green Waste Charges

Residents are angry at the charges being imposed to collect green waste from next March.

Warrington Council says it is being forced to impose this charge due to cuts in funding from central government.

Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Cllr Brian Axcell says, "Many people accept the Council's principle of charging and accept that people who do not have a green bin should not subsidise people that do. However the Council is acting inconsistently because this principle does not seem to apply in the case of charging in district car parks south of the Ship Canal and for Residents' Parking Zones.

There is a £3 surcharge if you cannot subscribe online. This is unnecessary, unreasonable, discriminatory and therefore possibly illegal. When I pay the £30 annual Road Fund Licence on my small car the cost is the same, regardless of whether I pay on-line or by visiting my local Post Office. The same principle should apply with green waste collection. No opportunity is offered for collecting payments by direct debit, which would be another cheap option for the Council. After all most people have bank accounts. The surcharge discriminates against the elderly and disadvantaged people who do not have a computer at home, and against people with disabilities, who cannot use one."

At the December Council meeting, Lib Dem Cllr Ian Marks asked a question about the financial case for the new charges. He says, "I was shocked that the case approved by the Council's Executive Board contained no financial information apart from the total cost of the green waste collection service. The Council predicts that the take-up of the new service will be only 35%. Where will the rest of the green waste go? Into black bins which they say is not allowed or fly-tipping? It admits that the savings on vehicles will be less than expected because all households in the borough will still have to be passed by.

When the Liberal Democrats led the Council we were very proud of the substantial increase in recycling rates we achieved. It now says that the new scheme will reduce rates by 2%. We don't think that Labour has thought this change through properly."

Further Information;

On the Council's own website, there is Further Information and a page where you can subscribe to the service