Labour bin proposals could lead to private collection charges

img_0343Following a report on ITV’s This Morning programme on 2nd November, Liberal Democrats have warned that Stockport residents could soon be paying for private bin collections and having to put up with smells and possible rat infestations if Labour plans for three-weekly bin collections go ahead.

The Labour Group now leading Stockport Council have announced proposals to move to a three-weekly Black Bin collection starting next year in what they describe as a bid to increase recycling rates.

This mirrors the actions of Labour run Bury Council, who were the first in England to move to a three-weekly bin collection back in October 2014, under the guise of increased recycling.

This Morning’s report covered residents in Bury who are choosing to pay over £300 a year on top of their council tax to have their bins collected more often by a private bin collection company. They told of overflowing bins, bad smells and of rat infestations, all brought by the move to three-weekly bin collections.

Speaking of his concerns, Cllr Mark Hunter, Lib Dem shadow spokesperson for waste collection said “This whole scheme is ill thought out and wrong. We do not want to copy councils like Bury who, despite taking this drastic action, still have a recycling rate below 60%. We do not want Stockport residents having to pay additional charges to a private company for a service which they are already paying council tax for. We call on Labour to drop this extremely unpopular plan now.”

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