Council Implements Lib Dem Waste Policies

2.39.35pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 28th Jan 2008

The announcement that the Council will be moving towards same-day collections and food waste collections is being welcomed by the Liberal Democrats on the Council.

Councillor Gerry Curran (Lib Dem, Twerton), who was the Executive member responsible for waste from 2005 to 2007 said:, "The Liberal Democrats welcome the proposed introduction of food waste collection and the same day collection of waste and recycling. These are proposals which I initiated during my time as Executive member for waste, so I am pleased to see them moving towards implementation, albeit with some delay - the plans I was working on would have brought in these new arrangements this Spring.

"It's ironic that the Cabinet are now implementing these policies given that the Conservative Group called-in the decision I took in 2006 to change to 'edge of property' collection. It would not have been possible to make further progress on waste collections without this difficult decision being taken and implemented.

"On the whole, same day collection will simplify things for residents who may currently have three different collection days. However there is also the downside that in some places it clutter on busy pavements or in important visitor areas could be a problem - we will be asking the Cabinet how they plan to address this potential problem.

"We will also be asking the Cabinet to reveal more details about of the timescale of the implementation or the details of how the food waste will be collected - for example, we will be wanting to know what type of vehicles will be used, where the food waste will be taken for composting (our waste should not be being transported long distances) and what will happen to the compost produced! We also want to know what equipment will be provided to residents - the Liberal Democrats believe that biodegradable liners for food bins and counter-top caddies would help ensure that the food waste collection is convenient and hygienic."