Wheelie bins for Hebden Bridge?
Saturday, 12 January 2008
On 10th January, Councillors called for further consultation on the future of waste collections across Calderdale. Members of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel recommended to Cabinet last night that there needed to be more time to consider the proposals. Cabinet meet to discuss the issue on January 28.
Three possible options are being considered to replace the current waste collection service, for which the contract expires later this year. They are:
- Maintaining the existing weekly back door sack collection service with fortnightly collection of recycling at the kerbside.
- A weekly kerbside wheeled bin collection service with fortnightly collection of recycling also at the kerbside.
- A weekly kerbside collection service of residual waste in a wheeled bin one week followed by kerbside collection of recycling the next week. This option would also include the separate collection of food waste every week.
Chair of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel, Councillor Bob Metcalfe, said the panel was concerned that a decision was to be made by January 28. He said: "One of the options includes a new weekly food waste collection service. Although the scheme is being piloted in the Calder, Todmorden and Park areas there has been little Calderdale-wide public consultation.It is also uncertain at this time whether the recycling of plastics is affordable. We want to see more time allowed for further consultation on the three options. This would give the Calderdale public more time to consider such an important matter. Cabinet can then take a decision based on more informed feedback. I fully understand the difficulties involved in allowing more time for consultation, but I feel that the need to allow the necessary consultation outweighs those difficulties."
The Halifax Courier's editorial yesterday called for Calderdale to stop dithering and introduce wheelies. It had previously claimed that polls show that 91% supported wheelies, along with council officers.