TORY CABINET URGED TO SORT OUT GREY BINS CHAOS (Kirklees Liberal Democrats)

Kirklees Liberal Democrats <info@kirkleeslibdems.org.uk>

TORY CABINET URGED TO SORT OUT GREY BINS CHAOS

July 18, 2008 10:00 PM

Cllr Kath Pinnock and members of the Lib Dem Group on Kirklees Council are being inundated by complaints from angry residents and families concerned about the lack of a proper collection.

The Council's Tory Cabinet has been criticised for only offering ad hoc collections of excess household waste to the 20,000 homes in Kirklees that currently stand to go without a proper grey bin collection for a month. Cllr Kath Pinnock and members of the Lib Dem Group on Kirklees Council are being inundated by complaints from angry residents and families concerned about the lack of a proper collection. The 19 strong group want the Cabinet to take action now to remedy the situation and diffuse public anger.

Cllrs Pinnock says:

"People are angry and understandably so".

"The Tory cabinet failed to prepare properly for the strike and arrange for catch-up rounds like has happened in some other authorities and they are failing to take proper action now".

"Surely the council can do better than offering to pop round and pick up the odd bag of waste as the Cabinet Member seems be proposing? That isn't a very efficient way of dealing with a huge delay in an essential public service. And it certainly won't go anyway to calming some of the people I've had to speak to in the last few days."

"Everyone councillor in my group thinks four weeks is just too long to go without a general waste collection in the middle of summer and the public agree."

"We've suggested that the Tories look at prioritising the collection of grey waste over recyclables but I didn't see an explanation of why this couldn't happen in the statement they issued on Friday?"

"Local people don't need me to tell them that the way this episode has been dealt just is simply not good enough. In a word, "rubbish".