Delays over green bin consultation (From York Press)
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Delays over green bin consultation
7:52am Monday 10th September 2012 in News
By Gavin Aitchison, gavin.aitchison@thepress.co.uk
CONTROVERSIAL changes that could mean York residents paying to have their green waste collected will not be put to the public until the New Year.
The Press revealed in July that City of York Council was considering a “subscription based service” as part of wider bin changes to try to save money.
The council said then that consultation would happen later this year, but that has now been delayed.
Sally Burns, the council’s s director for communities and neighbourhoods, said the consultation would be a wide one, addressing frontline and environmental services and the “public realms”, under the banner of Smarter York and taking account of the need to save money.
She said it would be a comprehensive and wide-ranging consultation, including through media, and said: “The team is currently exploring some exciting and innovative new options to deliver the savings required and we are evaluating these before we go to consultation, to ensure we are offering the right solutions for our residents.”
Coun Ann Reid , Lib Dem spokesperson on environmental services, said the plans had been delayed since the cabinet resignation of Coun Sandy Fraser , who had responsibility for the issue.
Coun Reid said: “There appears to be increasing confusion over the plans”.
She said Labour had not considered how unpopular the move would be and said: “It appears that officers need extra time to find solutions to get Labour out of this financial and public relations hole.”
She said recycling and landfill targets were already being missed after the closure of the Beckfield Lane tip and said ending free green bin collections would “compound the problem”.
Comments(13)
roskoboskovic
says...
8:49am Mon 10 Sep 12
amike
says...
9:00am Mon 10 Sep 12
Jim
says...
9:49am Mon 10 Sep 12
If the team think that it's exciting to charge people for something they already pay for then they must be very sad people.
Oncebitten
says...
10:18am Mon 10 Sep 12
stealerswheel
says...
10:22am Mon 10 Sep 12
retribution
says...
10:56am Mon 10 Sep 12
AnotherPointofView wrote:Please don't be so gullible!
"...end free green bin collections." They are not free, we pay already for them. This is a ridiculous suggestion. I will just put green waste in my grey bin. I won't be paying twice for this.
Next phase for Alexander's Rag Time Band will be to charge for the WEIGHT of refuse in the grey bin!
retribution
says...
11:01am Mon 10 Sep 12
Pete the Brickie
says...
11:17am Mon 10 Sep 12
Step one, purchase composting bin or gardenwaste incinerator, cost £35.
Step two, ask council to attend your property and remove your green bin, demand they provide evidence of its safe environmentally friendly disposal or re-use.
Step three, write to your council's political leader and chief executive and ask what savings they will be applying to your council tax demand now they will hardly be collecting any green bin s in York and presumably require only 50% of the refuse collection staff.
Older Sometimes Wiser
says...
1:05pm Mon 10 Sep 12
amike wrote:This is probably the main problem, not just with Green Bins but overall, and for all Political Parties.
What is the use of a consultaton by a council that does not listen?
Consultations tend to be framed to elicit the answers they ( Councillors or Officers )want. If they are web based these are only available to those with access to computers AND who have been informed about the subject.Even if you register to receive information on new consultations this is often neglected and you miss the chance to comment.
If you want your views recorded. then you have to get involved formally, being aware of Meetings, reading papers, registering to speak then attending and asking questions or making comments.
With a bit of luck your views will be recorded in the Minutes but this doesn't mean that anyone will act on them. Democracy is hard, long winded and requires effort. Sometimes it is worth it but the alternative is worse!
Yorkie41
says...
2:11pm Mon 10 Sep 12
Buzz Light-year
says...
5:35pm Mon 10 Sep 12
Magicman!
says...
2:33am Wed 12 Sep 12
And, as has already been said, if green bin charges start up then people will either just put their garden waste into their normal bin or go and dump it in a field.
AnotherPointofView says...
8:05am Mon 10 Sep 12
They are not free, we pay already for them. This is a ridiculous suggestion. I will just put green waste in my grey bin. I won't be paying twice for this.