Call for new charges to be binned

Members of the Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee have called for proposed new charges for replacement bins to be thrown out.

In February, the Council agreed in principle, as part of their budget consultation, to implement a charge for the supply of new and replacement bins which many local authorities already do.

Cheshire East Council spent £300,000 last year on providing new and replacement waste bins, plus £60,000 on delivery costs, £220,000 of which was an overspend on their budget.

In order to save this £360,000 a year they are proposing to charge £30 for green and silver recycling bins and £35 for standard black bins. They are also proposing to put addresses on the bins, to help discourage theft.

However, a survey carried out between March and May to gather views on the proposal showed that of the 1895 respondents only 34% agreed with it, whilst 55% disagreed and 10% stated they neither agreed or disagreed.

Those living in the north of the borough were more likely to agree whilst those in Crewe and the south of the borough were more disagreeing.

Respondents from Crewe were significantly more likely to disagree (64% disagreed) with a charge, compared with respondents from Goostrey and Holmes Chapel (49% agreed), Handforth, Alderley Edge & Wilmslow (45% agreed), Macclesfield & Bollington (46% agreed) and Prestbury & Poynton (50% agreed).

Those disagreeing had two main reasons: belief that this cost should already be covered by Council Tax and concern over the potential increase in the amount of fly tipping.

Speaking at the meeting of the Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday, 18th June, Councillor Nick Mannion said "I was at a meeting at a primary school in my ward where I am Chair of Governors about how are we going to provide a food bank in the summer when the kiddies don't get free school meals. Because the school's not in, how they are going to get fed"

"People are not going to pay anything for a bin because they haven't got the money to pay it. Inevitably those are the type of people who probably don't respond to these kinds of consultation and what I am really really worried that we will, yes there is a budget element to it - I can appreciate that- but the consequences are going to fall disproportionately in the more disadvantaged parts of our towns and villages.

"Quite clearly Crewe has come out very strongly against it. So I'd ask for two things straight away, firstly we ask that the Portfolio Cabinet to defer taking a decision on this until the Fly-tipping Task and Finish Group has had the chance to have a look at it and secondly the people are not going to pay 75% or 80% or 60%. They are just not going to have a bin, and what you are going to have is people pinching other people's bins or dumping it in other people's bins. The reality is in some communities is if it is a choice between feeding the kids, paying the lecy or buying a new bin because it has disappeared, for whatever reason. I know what's not going to get done and I really do think that we need to look at the unintended consequences of this policy in a little more depth before we take a final decision."

Councillor Sarah Pochin commented "It would appear that from the consultation, unsurprisingly nobody agreed that we should be paying for our bins and that the majority agreed that it should come out of the Council Tax, so that's effectively what this consultation's telling us."

She added "I personally think the provision of a bin is an absolute basic, fundamental thing that Cheshire East or any other council should be providing to a household and I would like to not see the instruction of charging for bins but more looking at if there is this huge number of replacement bins looking at why, looking at the reasons that are causing a high call for replacement bins.

"Someone having a bin that is provided by the council is to me an absolute fundamental right that you get when you pay your council tax in my view."

Don Stockton, Environment Portfolio Holder and ward councillor for Lacey Green said "It's a major cost for the council in replacing bins that go missing, get destroyed or whatever. £360,000 a year in replacing bins is no mean feat and obviously charging for bins would be a way of negating that."

During the past year Cheshire East Council has been trying to charge developers for bins, which was their preferred approach, but this has not been successful as the Council has no legal authority to make the developers pay.

Cllr Stockton added "A lot of our neighbours charge for bins, this is by no means unique at all. Halton charge £27.50 for a bin, Manchester City Council £20 for a bin and Stockport varies, High Peak £30 and Staffordshire Moorlands £30."

Members of the Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee voted by 8 votes to 3 (with one abstention) to recommend to the cabinet member that there should be no charge levied for replacement bins. An earlier vote to recommend that there should be no charge levied for the replacement of stolen bins, was passed unanimously.

This proposal formed part of the budget consultation which was agreed in principle by Council in February 2018; with responses from the survey to be analysed and considered before a final decision is made by Environment Portfolio Holder Councillor Don Stockton in July 2018.