Ive got this hunch I blogged about a local council wanting to charge for green bin recycling last year. And yes they now do it. Whats next, well a council in Cambridgeshire is now floating the same idea.
Fenland District Council which covers the towns of Wisbech, March and Chatteris together with the surrounding area is having a "consultation" about charging £40 a year for the use of a green waste recycling bin. Interestingly they say that in areas where this has been done there are no increases in flytipping, be nice to see the evidence for that.
They suggest that for houses that dont produce enough themselves to fill a bin regularly but who want to keep a bin, that sharing with neighbours could be a useful idea. They helpfully say you can always take your green waste to a recycling centre or compost all your waste.
Whats the driver, well they say it costs £700,000 to operate a green waste scheme in fenland and they dont get a government grant for this part of waste collection. Its got nothing to do with not wanting to provide a service then and increasing community charge has it. Will community charge come down if the service is paid for by people paying there £40, I doubt it.
Now if Fenland are looking at this how many other Cmabs councils are I wonder, waiting to see the responce. Lets go forward another year or two and whats next, the recyclable materials bin?
I suppose if I was cynical I would forecast that in just a few years time we will all be back to a weekly collection of a black bin that is stuffed to the lid with anything you care to put in it.
