PROPOSED charges for new wheelie bins “unfairly penalise” households, say Slough Labour backbenchers as they call for the council to scrap plans.
The new fees for residents wanting to replace their grey (waste) or red (recycling) bins, which range between £37 (180L) and £370 (1,110L), will see this take effect from November 1, 2022, if cabinet agrees this week,
This could rake in £40,000 a year for Slough Borough Council, which is needing to find new income and make significant cuts in order to make £20m savings every year until 2029.
The proposed fee won’t affect residents who already have a bin but only those wanting a new one or a replacement.
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Slough Council is also eyeing to introduce a fortnightly waste collection in order to save about £705,000 a year as well as increase the town’s poor recycling rate of 28 per cent to about 40 per cent.
At a place scrutiny meeting, Cllr Gurdeep S. Grewal (Lab: Upton) disagreed with the proposed charges, saying these should be included with council tax, citing some councils, such as Ealing, don’t charge for new bins.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, he said it will “unfairly penalise” street properties, who are more at risk of their grey or red bins being damaged or stolen and may not be able to afford a new bin.
Cllr Grewal said: “Why are we paying £3,000 [a year] in council tax if we charge an extra £45 for a new bin? What is actually included in the council tax apart from collection?”
“If a truck collecting a grey or red bin damages it in any way, then why is the resident liable? It says so in the policy,” he added.
Council officers say if their refuse vehicles damage the residents’ bins, then the local authority will supply a new one free of charge.
With the council soon introducing a £50 charge for people wanting to opt-in to their green waste collection scheme, questions were raised about a discount that could be introduced for state pensioners.
The meeting heard people can opt out of the service and find other services to pick up their garden waste, share a green bin with someone else, or bring it themselves to the Chalvey Household Waste Recycling Centre free of charge.
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Alongside the proposed bin charges, Slough, like other councils, wants to introduce fees for people wanting to dump their DIY waste, such as fence panels, kitchen sinks, gravel, etc., at the Chalvey tip.
Councillors feared people would dump their waste somewhere else or burn it in their back gardens, creating a fire risk and impacting air quality.
But officers state residents don’t tend to fly-tip and is usually committed by unlicensed commercial traders. Experiences from other local authorities show that the charges do not lead to a large increase in people burning their waste.
Senior councillors have been urged to scrap the grey and red bin charges and introduce a green waste collection discount for state pensioners. This will be debated at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday where a final decision will be made.
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