Waste scheme put on hold

6:35am Friday 22nd June 2007

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A FAR-REACHING waste management scheme aimed at achieving recycling targets in south Wiltshire has been put on hold for two months because of residents' worries over the introduction of wheelie bins and alternate week collections.

Salisbury District Council's new joint Liberal Democrat and Labour cabinet has ordered the deferment to allow an in-depth public debate on the issue - including consultations with parish and town councils and householders.

Council leader Paul Sample said he was mindful that contracts had already been signed for the new scheme but believed members could take another six to eight weeks looking at the plan before "incurring the displeasure of contractors".

The scheme, which officers have been piecing together over the past two to three years, emerged as a major issue at the May elections, with residents voicing fears over health problems that could arise from household waste being collected only once a fortnight and objecting to having wheelie bins forced on them.

At last Wednesday night's cabinet meeting environmental officers urged councillors to continue with implementation of the scheme, saying it was fundamental to achieving government recycling targets and avoiding punitive penalties for not doing so.

They said there had been a lot of rumour and misinformation about the scheme and attempted to soothe peoples' anxieties by promising to "go the extra mile to meet customers needs".

The use of wheeled bins was critical to the recycling plans but where properties were unsuitable for bins, sacks would be provided, they said.

And there would be help for people genuinely unable to manage a wheeled bin and advice for those worried about keeping food waste for a longer period of time.

But while emphasising their commitment to recycling, cabinet members said there needed to be greater communication about what was planned and a chance for local people to have their say and air their grievances.

Deputy portfolio-holder for community and housing Ian Tomes told of a woman in his ward who has to keep her bin on a mat in her living room because she has no garden and a front door that opens straight on to the street.

He questioned how she was going to manage with a fortnightly collection and said the council scheme needed to be far more flexible.

Resources portfolio-holder Andrew Robertson said officers seemed to be assuming the public didn't understand the scheme. "They do understand it, but don't like it," he said.

Dr Helena McKeown, deputy cabinet member for environment and transport, said she was ashamed of the amount of rubbish she had generated in her life and was now, with the rest of her family, a dedicated recycler.

But she said the way forward was not the use of a big stick. The council should instead be encouraging people to reduce the amount of waste they produce in the first place.

She said that as a GP she was worried about the health risk of fortnightly collections, raising the spectre of disposable nappies and incontinence pads being left for that length of time.

Dr McKeown was also concerned how elderly people with memory problems would cope with the new waste scheme and called for it to be handled in a dignified way.

The cabinet agreed to use five options put forward by officers in the waste scheme as the baseline for consultations and to make it clear that meeting recycling targets was imperative.