Wokingham green waste bin review after complaints

A new waste and recycling scheme which has prompted about 1,000 complaints in a Berkshire town is to be reviewed.

Wokingham Borough Council introduced the new system in April and residents who want to have their garden waste collected have to pay £60 a year.

Only about 10% of households have signed up to the scheme, which used to be free.

Wokingham Liberal Democrats say it is because it is too expensive, but the council says the fee is "reasonable".

The Lib Dems said the complaints were in response to a survey they had carried out and the council's scrutiny committee had now agreed to look again at the scheme.

'Numbers increasing'

Councillor Prue Bray, leader of the Lib Dems in Wokingham, said there needed to be concessions.

"It's a great pity that the Conservatives didn't consult residents before introducing their changes to the rubbish collection," she said.

"We have been arguing for many months that their scheme was flawed and now it is clear that residents think the same.

"We will continue to press for changes to the scheme."

Conservative councillor Angus Ross, lead member for the environment at Wokingham Borough Council, defended the scheme.

He said: "The numbers are increasing week by week as people are finding out about it.

"It was our calculation that this was the cost of the collection and the cost of the bin and that is obviously a figure that we will review.

"But it seems to be, to us, a very reasonable cost.

"There are some issues, there are some problems, and we will be reviewing it."