Liverpool £40 garden waste charge doomed to fail, councillor says
- Published
Some green bins have been left unemptied across the city as residents were "unaware of changes"
A new paid-for garden waste collection service in Liverpool is "doomed to fail" as not enough people have signed up to it, a councillor has said.
Residents face an annual charge of £40, in addition to council tax, for green bin collections from April.
Councillor Richard Clein said about 10,000 people had so far paid which would not generate the funds needed.
Liverpool City Council member for neighbourhoods Abdul Qadir said he was "confident" more people would sign up.
The council announced earlier this month the scheme would raise £1.7m towards £24.5m worth of savings the council needed to make in next year's budget.
Mr Clein, Liberal Democrat for Cressington, also criticised the Labour-led authority for "failing to communicate" the changes to local people.
Green Councillor Tom Crone says it is a "bad policy" as it means households won't get that waste recycled
"They think that by putting it out on social media that they've done their job in communicating a message" he said.
"But not everyone has access to social media or follows the council on there".
Residents in parts of the city have also complained that collectors had already stopped emptying their green bins and they were told the final free collection had already taken place.
Leader of the council's Green councillors, Tom Crone, said: "I've seen full bins this morning, so people haven't been made aware of the changes.
"But more importantly - it's a bad policy because at the current sign-up rate, two thirds of households won't sign up and that waste won't get recycled."
"A lot of that waste is going to end up in purple bins [general waste] and worsen Liverpool's already terrible recycling rate," he added.
Labour cabinet member for neighbourhoods Abdul Qadir said the authority had tried to keep residents informed, but said the revised collection timetable "could have been better communicated".
"The information is on our website, Twitter, Facebook and social media," he said.
"We've sent information out with the council tax bills. If anyone has missed out on the information, I apologise".
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