The date has been set for Sefton to decide whether it wants to press on with its fourth wheelie bin for residents – a blue one specifically for glass adding to the -grey, brown and green ones already issued.
Opposition leader in Sefton, Cllr John Pugh, has called for the council to stand back and have a hard think about it before committing £1.7m purchasing the new bins. Now a council Scrutiny Committee has been convened for the 19th October to review the decision. Residents can watch the proceedings online.
“My big concern all along “, says Cllr Pugh, “is for those who don’t have big back gardens and want to recycle but lack the space.
Sefton has a fair amount of property where road access is only from the front.
Already there are problems where terraced streets are adapting to the existing to the wheelie bin regime and having to push refuse through their house.
People may refuse yet another bin and recycling rates would actually fall. I have seen no evidence that the existing brown bin scheme used for mixed recycling has failed.”
“The decision seems to be motivated by the Sefton Council’s desire to get more money itself for the recycled glass at the expense of the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority who currently separate and sell it. It’s not about the residents. “
If Sefton’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee agree with Cllr.Pugh’s arguments the decision to press on with ordering 100,00 blue bins will be referred back to Sefton’s Cabinet for re-consideration.
“In a time of Covid with all the consequences for the public finances, I don’t want to see a penny wasted on any scheme that doesn’t stack up”, says Cllr.Pugh.