Row over plan to cut black bin collections

BLACK bin collections could be reduced to just once a month and garden waste fees hiked from £30 to £75 under controversial plans being considered by South Gloucestershire Council.

Opposition Tories have branded the proposals, which include new charges for disposing tyres and plasterboard at tips, as “crazy and irresponsible”.

But the new Lib Dem/Labour coalition running the council says the criticism is “astonishing and rather cynical”, as the work on a new waste contract was “largely done by their previous Conservative administration”.

Changes to how the service is run are needed because the council’s 25-year deal with Suez ends in 2025.

Officers have assessed four options to replace it but every one involves a massive funding shortfall.

The new cabinet has agreed a "direction of travel" aimed at further increasing recycling, ahead of a consultation over the summer and a final decision in October.

A cross-party scrutiny commission on June 14 heard having four-weekly black bin collections from 2026 would save £800,000 a year, with three-weekly collections saving £500,000.

Charges for disposing of waste, such as asbestos and tyres, at tips would bring in £500,000. Fees for collecting bulky waste could also increase.

Increases to the green bin subscription, from £30 to as much as £75 a year, and £25 charges for replacement bins will be considered.

Tory shadow cabinet member Rachael Hunt said: "We have an excellent record of prosecuting people for fly-tipping. These crazy and irresponsible proposals could see that record seriously jeopardised, as people try to avoid charges and deal with the accumulation of rubbish they’ll see when their bins aren’t emptied as regularly."

Labour cabinet member Leigh Ingham said the new cabinet had "inherited incomplete plans for £40m of cuts", adding: “It is astonishing, and rather cynical, that the Conservatives seemingly appear surprised by the proposals as the work on this project which was largely done by their previous Conservative administration."

Officers said “awkward” waste, such as nappies, clinical and sharp objects, would be collected more frequently than black bins.