Garden waste collections across Nantwich and Crewe are to be axed for four months to save money.
But the move by Cheshire East Council has sparked anger from residents, according to local councillors.
Cheshire East bosses say postponing garden waste collections between November and March could save the authority £1 million over the next four years.
Last year, collections were only suspended for two months, instead of the new 4-month policy.
But Willaston and Rope Ward UKIP Councillor Brian Silvester believes it could lead to legal challenges from those who have paid for extra “green” bins to be collected.
He said: “Residents have already contacted me to complain about this huge reduction in service.
“There is no charge for the first green bin but there is an annual cost is £45 for the second green bin.
“Those paying the cost of an extra bin, if they have to continue to pay the same for a much reduced service, will consider that unfair.
“Also there has been no public consultation or consultation with councillors on this major change.
“Lots of people are cutting back hedges and trees over the winter as well as preparing ground for the spring.
“Many residents have piles of green waste by the end of January waiting for the brown bin collections to recommence.
“There is a risk this policy change will result in the tipping of green waste on the roadside, which will be an additional cost to CE to remove. I am calling on CE to put this idea on ice and carry out a proper consultation with the residents who have green bins.”
Cllr David Topping, Cheshire East Council Cabinet member in charge of the environment, said: “As only 10 per cent of garden waste is collected in the winter, there is far less need for this service then.
“This measure will save money and allow the council to focus its resources where they are most needed.
“The changes outlined will save the authority more than £1m over the next four years.
“That is a lot of money which the council will now be able to use to focus on improving key winter services that really matter to local people, such as repairing potholes and gritting our roads.
“The council’s decision to suspend garden waste collections between November 18 2013 and March 14 2014 will save the authority £120,000 in the first year and up to £300,000 in future years.”
(Pic courtesy of Elliot Brown, Flickr Creative Commons)
Great the garden refuse collection start next week, so I can now start to fill my otherwise empty bin. I managed to prune my trees and shrubs well before the last collection,and a lot of wood is piled in my nature end of the garden to attract insects, Or in a compost bin. This collection idea would have been laughed at years ago, it was never needed. The council are right to hold collections to save money, there are far too many bins on the street each week barely half full, and that goes for all bins. To then spend time to empty a half full bin uses the same man power as a full bin, so get real!
Much garden waste lying around. I have no means to take it to the tip. Maybe I may have to pay someone. In which case I would like to see a drop in Council Tax to cover our costs.
If the council had had any sense, they would have suspended the service for December, January and February. It is the extra 2 weeks either side of this that I object mostly to. To stop garden waste collections in the middle of November is ludicrous as most leaves have not fallen by then. Also, serious gardeners are needing collections again by end of February.
Why was there no public consultation?
Can we expect the council to sweep the many footpaths and alleyways that are now littered with leaves? Thus a ‘health and safety’ hazard.
Is it too much to hope that the so called savings will be spent on resurfacing the many roads which are completely worn out, shiny and accidents waiting to happen, such as Heath Road in Sandbach?
I fear that Cheshire East have created a lot of ill will and will be rewarded with garden waste in black bins and green bins so clogged by an accumulation of 4 months of waste by mid March that they will be impossible to empty!!
Does this mean that Cheshire East Council will start sweeping the footways again. Ater all, many residents clear the leaves from the pavement outide their properties, but with no brown bin, they will not be able to provide this free service to the Council. I presume they have thought of that and I wonder which will cost more. Empty the bins or sweep the footways and empty the gullies!!
I work with many Councils, and this one sure takes the biscuit.
CEC strikes again, will they now refund me £9 as they have now reduced the collection by 20%, I doubt it but I will apply for the rebate anyhow!!!
I presume that those who have made this irresponsible, ill considered decision know nothing about gardening as the most usual tome for pruning many trees, shrubs and climbers is at the very time Cheshire East have decided to remove the collection of green waste.
In addition to this new decision being incompatible with the council’s own Waste Strategy, it is also contrary to the objectives in its Transport Plan Final Strategy as it generates the need for extra individual car journeys.
I tend to agree with Brangane…here we come Town Hall at midnight!
I objected to the cost of the second bin when it went up to £45 and now I am glad I did so. There are many ways the Council can save money but cutting back on recycling should not be one of them.
I suggest the Council goes and reads its own Waste Strategy, part of which says:
The CWP is committed to achieving high levels of recycling and composting whilst also ensuring its recycling systems are as convenient as possible for Cheshire residents to use, are well maintained and achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and participation.
As another user says, what they will find is that the black bin is now filled with sacks of garden waste instead or that it gets put in the grey bins as well.
A ludicrous idea from a backward thinking organisation.
I have paid for an extra bin as I have a lot of foliage around my home. I can’t burn it, they won’t let me take my trailer full of hedge trimmings to the waste site in Crewe, it a foot too long. Thier answer to me was buy a smaller trailer or another bin! Great! Now they won’t empty it.
Not impressed, I always have a big pile building up by January, the temptation wil be to use the black bin. Does the Christmas tree wait until March then? Surely this change to service should have subject to consultation?
I think the reasons given for stopping are, frankly, crazy – but we expect crazy decisions from CE these days. Garden waste is a form of recycling but CE decide arbitrarily to suspend a recycling activity to suit their own ends. As with many of CE’s crazy decisions, this won’t save anything in reality – it just shifts the cost to someone else. If people do the right thing, there will be thousands of additional car journey to local recycling centres. I think residents would be well within their rights to dump their garden rubbish wherever it causes maximum inconvenience and additional cost to CE – how about the Town Hall steps at midnight? . It might get them to see sense.
I will put mine in the black bin anyway, if Cheshire East won’t play fair then I won’t !!
Before the introduction of green waste bins, it was permitted to put garden waste in the normal refuse bin. Will this now be allowed while the green bin collections are withdrawn?
Have you all thought of what it costs to run the service in winter? For the little amount of tonnage the council get compared to the cost to run the service, it is probably not economically viable to keep it going then.
Yes there will be exceptional circumstances that need help over winter and advice on alternative methods of collection would be helpful and they could even lay on a small wagon for the odd pre arranged paid for and bespoke trip.
In the same way you wouldn’t drive to the tip with 1 old can of coke to recycle it, the costs must far outweigh the benefits. As it’s not an essential service (people aren’t going to die from having a bit of garden waste left for a month or so) it makes full sense to me.