Councillor criticised for 'burn garden waste' comment

Gloucester City Council charges £52 a year for garden waste collection

A councillor has been called irresponsible for advising people to burn their garden waste if they cannot afford the annual collection fees.

Councillor Brendon O’Donnell made the comments in a Facebook live video after a Gloucester City Council meeting last week.

In the recording he said people are frustrated with the annual £52 cost of garden waste collection, and added “my advice to you is, sod it, burn it.”

The deputy leader of the Community Independent Group has since said he was “trying to prove a point” about affordability and access to services, and no longer advocates burning waste.

Liberal Democrat cabinet member for the environment, Sebastian Field, said he was “shocked” by the comments, which he described as “grossly irresponsible”.

“Nearly 23,000 residents in Gloucester use the garden waste service, if all of those were to start burning their garden waste we would have a public health epidemic of respiratory problems in the city,” he added.

“Not to mention the fact that it’s very unneighbourly and it’s very dangerous.”

Gloucester City Council’s garden waste is collected once a fortnight, and those on certain benefits can have the cost reduced to £31.

'Not going to retract it'

Mr O’Donnell told the BBC that residents in his Matson and Robinswood ward were struggling to pay the charge and has called for the service to be free.

He said he would not take back the comments, but is no longer backing his earlier advice.

“It’s what I said, and I’m not going to retract saying it,” he added.

“I’m not saying go out and do it now, but… I know people do because there’s a lot of people I’ve spoken to who already burn their green waste.

“It is happening, and that was happening way before I said anything.”

'Value for money'

Mr Field said Gloucester’s garden waste service represents “good value for money” and claims it would leave a funding gap of £42,500 a year if the council were to offer it for free.

He has suggested those who cannot afford the fee should look into composting.

“If you’ve got space for a garden then presumably you have somewhere you can compost,” he added.

“You don’t even need to have a bin necessarily, you can have a compost pile in your garden and that’s free of charge.”

Gloucester City Council’s garden waste fee is the cheapest of Gloucestershire’s six district authorities, with Cotswold District Council the most expensive at £64 per year.