A Council report, commissioned to investigate Conservative claims that the green waste charge could be scrapped without additional cost to the taxpayer, has come back with a categorical answer – the Tory plan would in fact cost at least £1.2 million a year, which would have to be paid for by cuts to other services. 

Lib Dem recycling spokesperson, Claire Young said: “This report is damning about the Conservatives’ fanciful claims. It’s all there in black and white. They said the charge was costing the Council money – in fact the new waste strategy has saved the council £1.1million in its first year. They said they could save millions by collecting bins from early morning until late at night – it would actually cost over £50,000 more each year than it would save. They said the charge could be scrapped without additional cost to the taxpayer – in fact it would cost at least £1.2million a year, which would have to be paid for by cuts to other services.

“No one wanted to introduce a charge for green bin collections, but the alternative was cuts to more critical frontline services. The Conservatives raised false hopes about the possibility of scrapping the charge without a credible plan for how they would do it or where they would find the money. This has been nothing more than an irresponsible political stunt by the Conservatives and residents have every right to feel let down.”