Alternate Bin Collections & Council Tax (Bracknell Liberal Democrats)

Bracknell Liberal Democrats <info@bracknelllibdems.org.uk>

Alternate Bin Collections & Council Tax

August 20, 2010 4:40 PM

Cllr Bettison, as Leader of Conservative-controlled Bracknell Forest Council, would be better off joining the Labour Party given his pen'chant for supporting alternate bin collections (ABC) and refusing to accept his own Party's plans to freeze council tax increases.

The arguments put forward by Cllr Bettison for retaining ABC (Standard, 12 Aug) are misleading and utterly spurious in many cases. He is reported to have said it would cost the council £7m to go back to weekly bin collections but it is already costing the council almost as much to make the collections on a fortnightly basis. The projected savings have clearly never been realised and the anticipated re-cycling rates have never been achieved.

Cllr Bettison is also quoted as saying that in a survey '84% of people declared themselves happy or very happy with their bin collection'. I very much doubt if this is true of the community as a whole. A large scale survey undertaken by the Government last year confirmed that ABC was less popular than weekly collections. Bracknell Forest Council came last but one out of the 329 councils that took part in the survey.

Recycling levels have increased only very modestly in Bracknell Forest and there is now much more support for trying a different approach. The Coalition Minister for Local Government, Eric Pickles, wants local councils to go back to weekly collections because they are less unhygienic and more popular and Windsor and Maidenhead have already decided to opt for a system of incentives and penalties in order to encourage residents to recycle more.

Cllr Bettison is not only out of step with current thinking, he is also out of step with his own Party. He introduced ABC in this borough without any council debate, public consultation or trial period. The local elections next May will give residents a much needed opportunity to say what they think of Cllr Bettison and his policies.

Ray Earwicker

Former Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell.