The Local Government Association this week said it was up to councils to decide on alternate weekly rubbish collections (AWC) Its comments follow last week's cross-party committee report on refuse collection and recycling which slammed government-proposed financial rewards for taxpayers as ‘complex and timid'. The communities and local government select committee inquiry has also revealed AWC of rubbish are not right for all areas, and do not necessarily increase recycling levels. ‘Rewards of as little as £20 a year are unlikely to prompt mass recycling,' the report states, adding schemes charging failing or poor recyclers might potentially increase fly-tipping. The LGA agreed AWC was not the right answer everywhere, but said councils were best placed to judge on rubbish collections in each area, a point the committee agreed on. AWC worked less well, the report says, where councils have ‘blundered into' introducing schemes without adequately informing local householders and taxpayers. Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's environment board, said his organisation was poised to lead a debate on separate and weekly food waste collection, which although was desirable in principle, had serious cost and practicality issues. Eric Pickles, shadow secretary for local government, endorsed the committee's report and described the charges to ‘poor' recyclers as an extra stealth tax. But an Environmental Services Association spokesman accused the committee of being ‘cautious' on planning policy. ‘The committee lost a chance to recommend specific action to ensure sufficient infrastructure is delivered on time to meet European obligations to divert waste from landfill,' he said. This week Blackburn with Darwen Council agreed a phased return to weekly waste collections, stating the new system was designed to make recycling easier and it was ‘what people wanted'.
