Tories threw the future of waste collections in south gloucestershire into chaos in Thornbury. The Communities committee was meeting to decide on a package of waste issues, like charging for green bins, and increased recycling of plastics and tetrapaks. But the Tory group had a secret proposal.

Eight months after they asked for a misleading public consultation, they finally broke their silence on how to pay for the service after the meeting had begun – proposing to collect bins at ten o’clock at night. This would be part of “double shift working”, which would mean employees working for ten hours a day, and vehicles being used for sixteen.

Tory lead member James Hunt said he thought that would ‘probably’ make savings between tens of thousands and millions of pounds – but had no solid numbers or projections.

Council officers were taken by surprise – and warned that the Tory proposal would mean higher costs at waste transfer stations, longer working days for staff, and increased maintenance to vehicles. It would also mean busier roads, with waste collections going on til late at night.

Waste officer Mark Angus told the committee: “We would have to have transfer stations open til 11 at night. Planning permissions would need to be extended, planning would take months, the operating licences have restrictions, and a necessary reprocessor would not be available, there would be five hours of tipping where we couldn’t haul it out.” He added, “Running a vehicle for 16 hours a day, it is going to need replacing much sooner than we normally would, which would add costs.”

After Cllr Hunt’s shock proposal, Council lawyer Gill Sinclair said: “In order to make a good decision, it is vital that you have all the information in front of you. Members don’t have that information before them at this point. My advice is that you don’t, and it would be a decision if taken that is capable of being challenged.”

After long discussions, the proposal was rejected 7-6.

After the vote, Liberal Democrat lead member Claire Young said: “I was shocked when the Tories sprung this on us with no warning, and no information. It wasn’t even worked out on the back of a fag packet. They had no idea how much it would cost or save, and no idea how long it would take. Back in January, they tried to have a consultation that they knew had a massive financial hole. Finally, we heard their big secret idea to plug it – and it simply wasn’t thought through.

“We’ve now asked officers to come up with the numbers, and we can look at the idea in future. But suddenly putting this forward with no warning, no planning, and officers pointing out pitfalls – they must have known we couldn’t have voted on it today, let alone approved it. I can’t imagine the contempt they must hold residents in if that’s their idea of democracy.”