A major debate is taking place over plans to charge people in Pendle for taking away their bulky waste, emptying their green bins full of garden rubbish and getting them to pay for new wheelie bins.
For years, Pendle Council officers have suggested the borough could get more money by billing people when binmen collect their big rubbish items like ovens, fridges, beds and settees. But councillors have consistently turned it down.
Pendle is one of the few councils that don’t charge for it. In Burnley you pay £10.60 and in Blackburn £20. It’s free in Hyndburn.
And for people with green bins it is suggested a charge of £25 a year.
At last Thursday’s Pendle Council Executive meeting the issues were raised by a member of the public, Mr Jimmy Trigg, who spoke against the green bin charges and having to pay for new bins.
He said: “I think it is wrong to introduce a £25 charge for green bins. We are now in a grey period. I think it is a wrong time to introduce this charge.”
He was also concerned about £10 bulk charges and said: “I think it would encourage more fly-tipping.”
He questioned whether bins were owned by the council and said: “If it remains the property of the borough you can’t blame people who have them stolen. I think the council should take the responsibility for the safety of bins.”
And he said: “I don’t think the charge should be made for the collection of waste.”
Coun. Tony Greaves congratulated Mr Trigg on raising “some very important points.”
On the bulky charge he said: “We have resisted it for many years as we thought it was something the council should do for free.”
He was not happy with the £25 green bin charge. “I would suggest a lot of it will be chucked over a hedge into a field,” he said. “I think it is going to cause difficulty.”
And in relation to charges on bulky goods he said: “They will go in backyards of empty houses, spare land, playgrounds and, where its near the edge of the country, people will dump it over a farm gate. If people have to get a new wheelie bin they will go and nick one from the next street. It’s going to cause huge numbers of neighbour disputes.”
It was decided the decision would be made at tomorrow night’s full council meeting.