Benyon sides with council in waste war

MP backs council stance to drop weekly black bin collections after Pickles pledges millions to restore service

THE MP for Newbury Richard Benyon has backed West Berkshire Council's decision to drop weekly black collections despite an announcement from the Government on Friday that it was offering councils cash to bring the service back.

West Berkshire Council announced two weeks ago it was to axe weekly black bin waste collections and bring in a new waste collection rota revolving around kitchen caddies which means residents would put food waste in their green bins one week and black bins the next.

The move did not go down well with many members of the public who accused the council of attempting bury the changes, but Mr Benyon said he believed the authority had done the right thing.

“I don't want to sit in a government which preaches to local authorities how to collect their waste and I think the local authority should be applauded for their stance,” he said.

“The council are committed to increasing the amount of recycling and had come up with a proposal to have kitchen waste collected once a week and that is something they would hope to take forward.

“Most people recognise that we want to see recycling rates rise.”

Environment minister Mr Benyon denied reports of a rift between his department Defra and the communities secretary Eric Pickles despite contrasting messages from both after Mr Pickles announced a £250m fund to pay councils to retain or reintroduce weekly bin collections in their areas.

Defra has repeatedly stated weekly collections costs more and lead to lower recycling rates.

In response to Mr Pickles' announcement, which contradicts West Berkshire's recent announcement, the West Berkshire councillor responsible for waste and the environment, Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley), told Newburytoday.co.uk: “Many councils that have introduced fortnightly bin collections only collect food waste on alternate weeks.

“We have deliberately structured our service so that weekly collections of food waste will continue.

“We are aware of [Eric Pickles'] announcement but have not received any details of the Government's proposals, and would need to see those before making any decisions.”

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