Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Place and Sustainability – to report to the committee on the Council’s plans to introduce fortnightly non-recyclable rubbish collections and consider comments from residents in Area Forum

The Chair asked Councillor Canver – Cabinet member for Environment to give an introduction of proposals.

Councillor Canver commented that the Forum debate/discussion on the proposals had in her view been good in terms of public understanding and concerns.  Whilst acknowledging that the proposals would be challenging for some residents there was commitment on the Council’s behalf to increase recycling wherever possible across the whole Borough.  Councillor Canver hoped that people would work with the Council and also to express views on the positives and negatives of the proposals. In terms of sizes of bins and physical capacity there would be ways of providing smaller bins etc for people. Councillor Canver hoped that when individuals received notification by letter of the new bin implementation they would contact the Council with their requirements if they desired smaller bins.

The Chair thanked Councillor Canver for her comments and advised that the Lib Dem Ward Councillors from the four wards had carried out their own survey in terms of the proposals and asked that Councillor Jenks comment on the outcome.

Councillor Jenks advised that in terms of the proposals he would MOVE the following resolution:-

‘This Committee is opposed to fortnightly collections until or unless such time as the Council provides clear evidence showing first, that residents support a change to fortnightly collections, and second that they do actually achieve the benefits on which any such proposals are based’

Councillor Jenks commented that it should be made clear that he and the Lib/Dem Group were 100% in favour of increasing recycling rates, and that in the past Lib/Dem Councillors had criticised the Council for its failure to deliver on this. Councillor Jenks advised that whilst the Council might claim that it had consulted on this matter, its 2009 consultation made no mention of fortnightly collection, with the nearest to this was 36% of respondents wanted bigger containers and 17% of respondents believed education to be the key to recycling.

Councillor Jenks reported that in the absence of any proper Council consultation a survey was carried out by Liberal Democrats in wards in the west of Haringey and received 1100 responses with 86% of those responding opposed to fortnightly collection. The rates opposing for wards within this Committee were 86% for Alexandra, and Fortis Green, 85% for Muswell Hill, and 93% for Highgate. 78% of people responding had not been aware about fortnightly collections and 92% of people who responded felt that they should have been consulted.

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Councillor Jenks further stated that at the very least this identified a great deal of unease within the Borough about the fortnightly rubbish collection being imposed. Councillor Jenks commented that the Council argued that fortnightly collection would save money. The saving in operational costs was stated as £300,000 per year, with the Council arguing that a £600,000 per year saving can come about as a result of waste recycled as a result of reduced disposal costs.

Councillor Jenks referred to the Government offer of £250 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27