Hunts Post readers have their say on HDC's green bin charge plan

Fears about fly-tipping and cost-of-living 

We already pay for an extra bin as we have large garden and are happy to do so, but now this will cost us 87.50 and we are pensioners. We also put food waste in our bin, as advised, and this will now have to be put in the grey bin. Food waste on a compost heap can attract rats. How about bucking the trend and not following other councils HDC?

Joy Blythe 

I am particularly concerned about how the council has come to an annual figure of £57.50 for each households first bin.

At first glance this feels to me like a greedy council seeking to make a large profit, but I will happily offer my apologies to anyone who can provide me with justification and evidence to support this charge.

Andy Asby

HDC is adding insult to injury by charging for the green bin. Logic tells me there will be more fly tipping of all types of garden waste. 

Yet another charge to be imposed on struggling households. No doubt much green waste will be put into the domestic bins thus adding to landfill.

Keith Forber

One thing that comes to mind is if we chose not to pay for a green bin what should be done with food waste? 

Currently this goes in the green bins. Will HDC provide the small food waste bins commonly used by other authorities or will there be a rethink about what waste goes in the remaining bins.

I worry that if we were to be supplied with small food waste bins these could easily become “lost” for properties that leave bins on footpaths at the back of properties or where they are taken to a communal gathering point.

Jane Elliott

It is a poorly thought-out idea, expecting people to pay for garden and food waste green wheelie bins. 

Do they want people to carry on recycling? It will just mean more gets put in sacks in grey rubbish wheelie bins and then goes to landfill.

And, of course, it will lead to more fly-tipping as well. And in the current climate of struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, it is a disgraceful that it is being suggested and considered.

Mark Burnell 

I would like to say the idea of having to pay for a collection of garden waste seems ridiculous. We are supposed to be helping the environment.

A better idea would be to shorten the months of green waste collection as most garden bins during the winter months aren't used, or start charging for household waste that way it might encourage people to actually recycle.

Mrs Ewington

I am writing in connection with the proposed annual charge for green bin collection.

Before we had a green waste collection quite a few households in my road would throw their grass cuttings etc in the hedgerow which runs along one side of the road.

I think that cutting this service will result in more rotting garden waste in hedgerows and similar.

We regularly prune not only shrubs but trees also so we will be forced to pay the annual fee, but I can see many smaller houses and those on low incomes will either let their gardens overgrow or flytip.

Alison Tompson

Our council tax is currently £2,000 per annum which is expensive for the services we get and now you want us to pay for green bin collection on top. If you do, you will probably see an increase in fly-tipping. Bit by bit, HDC is chipping away at services.

Debbie Hill.

It is a disgrace to charge people of my age, at 90 years old, to collect green bins.

I am not capable of taking myself or the green bin to the tip.

It is not easy these days to continue to pay council tax, which should cover matters such as collections.

Dennis Flavell

Huntingdonshire is already one of the highest council tax charges in the country and this garden waste service should be included in normal waste collection services.  

To consider a charge for this is scandalous. If this charge does become effective, I for one will bag up my garden waste and take it to a tip myself on a regular basis and will put all my kitchen waste in the grey bin. 

I will not pay for what is, in fact, an additional tax to collect green bin waste.

I will also expect the council to collect their green bin from me for no charge and dispose of it as they see fit .

Stephen Roberts

I am writing to express my dismay at the proposed annual charge for collection of green bins.

This proposal appears to have been pushed through at HDC level without public or wider consultation.

In support of my objection I would like to make the following points which appear to have escaped consideration>

Has Cambridgeshire County Council been consulted as this will inevitably increase volumes of green waste through the household recycling centres, merely shifting the problem and cost.

It is almost certain that the volumes of green waste deposited in grey bins will increase causing the throughput at the county council waste disposal point to increase for grey waste with associated increase in costs.

The overall volume of green waste collected will reduce, which will affect the county council's throughput at Waterbeach thereby potentially affecting the volume associated with that long-term PFI contract for composting this material.

What will be the loss in revenue from the onward sale of garden waste compost at county council recycling centres. Has that been factored into the process?

The statement that "growth in the district's population will increase demand for the service" is true, but the council will benefit from a huge increase in rate precept collected and even greater economies of scale with the increase. So this is at best a dubious statement. Also, the growing population is entirely down to the district council's granting of planning permission without considering wider sustainability issues on services so the district council is master of its own destiny on this point. 

The cessation of collecting green waste will inevitably lead to an increase in fly tipping of garden waste, which will increase the county council's costs, again merely shifting the burden.

I foresee that many will simply put green waste into the grey bin. 

The proposal also discourages recycling on a wider basis. Let me give you one simple example. Wrapped food waste currently separately placed into green and blue bins. If there is no green bin, the temptation will be to just put the wrapped food waste straight into the grey bin without spearation. Again, not helpful to county council's recycling process, targets or costs.

Maybe the answer here is for the county council to provide a county-wide collection service for green waste and retain the element of council tax precept currently allocated to district's for this.

Hopefully delivering the service more cheaply through a county-wide collection and associated economies of scale and removing local responsibility for this and avoiding the potential cost implications to County of this proposal.

I urge people to lobby to quash this proposal whicn is yet another draw on the residents of Huntingdonshire's pockets during the current cost of living crisis.

Nick Clare

What do our councillors imagine will happen to all the garden waste produced by those unwilling, or unable to pay the new charge.

This will no doubt finish up dumped by roadsides or in lay-bys and will need to be collected at greater cost than the present system. The environmental damage that this will cause cannot be calculated. Once again our short-sighted representatives fail to take the long view in order to save a few pounds.

Keith Owen 

I read Huntingdonshire want to charge for green bin does this mean our council tax be reduced at the moment this service is incorporated in the bill

Maria 

Council tax has got more expensive and now they want to charge for the collection of the green bins. How can they expect us to pay more? How is this fair.
Rick Walker