Replacement bin charge not needed

Dear Sir,

I would be very grateful if you could permit me to make your readers aware that the deadline for making submissions to Cheshire East Council's consultation on the supply of household recycling and waste bins is fast approaching - all consultation responses must be received by 21st May, 2018.

Cheshire East Council advise that the current demand for new and replacement wheeled bins is costing over £ 300,000 per year plus delivery costs of £ 60,000.

Cheshire East Council advise that 42% of the new and replacement bins are accounted for by standard garden bins and a further 18% are accounted for by standard recycling bins with only 25% accounted for by the standard refuse bin.

In this consultation exercise Cheshire East Council advise that they are planning to charge £ 30 each for standard recycling and garden waste bins and £ 35 for a standard black refuse bin.

These proposals by Cheshire East Council will be a disaster to our environment; as householders, suffering under these times of austerity, will minimise their costs by just ordering the standard black refuse bin and will then be tempted to put their recycling and their garden waste into the standard refuse bin.

Furthermore there is a real danger that Cheshire East Council's policy of charging for new and replacement bins will result in an increase in fly-tipping.

I am at a complete loss to understand why Cheshire East Council feel there is a need to introduce this new charge,

In 2017 Cheshire East Council advised that the average Council Tax bill is £ 3 per day so after the whopping 5.99% increase levied on Council Tax payers in 2018 the average home is now paying £ 1,160 per year.

In this consultation document on the supply of household recycling and waste bins, Cheshire East Council advise that they need to deliver approximately 12,330 new dwellings over the next five years in order to address the housing shortfall. Based on Cheshire East Council's figures at the end of five years these 12,330 homes should generate an additional annual income for Cheshire East of about £ 14,302,800. Admittedly with the additional homes the cost of £ 360,000 for new and replacement bins plus delivery costs will probably increase slightly but even if this cost increases by about 20% to £ 432,000, it will still only be about 3% of the total income on Council Tax generated from just these 12,330 new homes.

The cost of new and replacement bins could and should be easily funded from the additional council tax from these new homes.

So why should Cheshire East Council need to charge for new and replacement bins which, as detailed above, cannot be justified.

There can only be one simple explanation for Cheshire East Council seeking to charge this new cost for new and replacement bins and it all boils down to the money wasted by Cheshire East Council these past years (as fully detailed in your paper and in Private Eye) such as many millions lost on the Lyme Green fiasco plus £ 45,000 which we recently learnt was paid to an employee who it appears should have been dismissed without compensation, £ 800,000 in costs in respect of officers who have been suspended, £ 152,000 getting advice from consultations on procedures to stop bullying of staff and about £ 1 million beautifying the centre of Congleton which was, in my opinion, nice to have but totally unnecessary.

I would urge readers to make their views known on this consultation paper to raise a charge for new and replacement household and recycling bins and to totally reject these proposals because of the likelihood of the consequential damage to the environment and because such additional charges would be totally unnecessary if Cheshire East Council was a well run council.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Douglas,

2 Hollycroft,

Congleton CW12 4SH