Cardiff Council’s Controversial Plan to Introduce Monthly Bin Collections

In a bid to cut back on expenditure and to improve recycling rates, Cardiff City Council has proposed that black bin collections should be reduced from fortnightly to once a month. The idea has provoked fears of over spilling waste and health hazards and many families have already contacted the council, worried about how and where they would store their waste for a month at a time.

Assembly Member, Eluned Parrot has called the plan “absurd”, “unsanitary” and “unhealthy” and believes the move would only worsen fly-tipping and littering. Parrot added, “Instead of short-sighted cuts as this one, which if it leads to fly tipping or vermin problems may cost the Council more in the long run, Cardiff’s Labour council needs to make smarter choices.”

Plus, Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson has spoke out to criticise the plans, deeming that the monthly collections would mean the “entire population of Cardiff will be suffering from the bubonic plague.” He added, “There will be so much litter in the streets that rats and plague are sure to follow.” He also echoed the AM’s views that more people would dispose of their waste unlawfully, to avoid overflowing bins.

Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary is another to attack the idea. He said, ‘These barmy bin policies will harm the local environment by fuelling fly-tipping and back yard burning’ and further added, ‘Hard-working people will suffer from a derisory bin collection service in return for paying a fortune in council tax’.

This idea is one of many aimed at reducing council spending by £125 million and increasing recycling by 58% to hit the government target in 2015. Some of the other proposals include:

• Fines for those who put the wrong sort of rubbish into bins
• A ‘pay as you throw’ scheme where families pay less, the more they recycle
• Smaller bins introduced to encourage families to waste less
• Limited amount of black bin bags per household, per month

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