Council is not obliged to collect all waste from all homes

For most people, the moment bin collection becomes less than seamless, it’s time to get angry.

The thing is, the services your council provides are split between statutory services (the things they have to provide by law) and discretionary services (those things that are nice to have but the council is not legally obliged to do).

And yes, waste collection and recycling is a statutory service. But it’s not that straightforward. The council is not obliged to collect all waste from all homes.

For example, some councils will let you dump waste from DIY building work, some won’t, or if they do, they’ll charge you.

Which brings me on to so called green waste – or non-household waste in council jargon. There are some councils around the country who charge upwards of £100 a year to collect your garden waste while there are councils that still don’t charge. Then we have the councils running a hybrid system where you can have your first garden waste bin for free but charge you around £50 for a second bin.

Which brings me on to the extravagantly named Cheshire West and Chester Council’s plan to start charging £40 a year to collect green waste bins.

Needless to say, the proposal hasn’t been met with universal approval from council taxpayers who have got used to having their garden waste removed without having to pay extra.

So let’s hear what the council has to say about it.

Cllr Karen Shore, cabinet member for environment, highways and strategic transport, said: “It is clear that our waste management system could better support our residents to reduce, reuse and recycle the waste we produce.

“We appreciate that introducing a choice-based system will be unpopular with some due to the charging element but we have to balance this in the context of the budget challenges, the Climate Emergency and the other pressures the council is facing.

“Garden waste collection is a discretionary service and we will be introducing a choice-based system that people can opt into. People may also choose to home compost or take their waste to the household waste recycling centres.”

Cutting through the ‘opt-in’, ‘choice-based’ council speak, if you want a green bin for your garden waste, you will need to cough up £40 a year to have it emptied in the growing season from March to November.

If you don’t have a garden or want to deal with your garden waste yourself, then you simply don’t sign up for the service.

I do have a fear that this could lead to more fly-tipping but in these times of cutbacks to council funding, I don’t blame CWAC for this. The council is only falling in line with many other councils that have been charging for this service for many years.

My advice to those people who are now moaning about having to pay for this service is just be grateful you’ve had it for free for a lot longer than most.

On another topic, my opinion about police and crime commissioners should be well known by now – I don’t like them. I think they are a complete and utter waste of public money and politicises a service that should be free from political interference.

But if we must have a PCC, I’d like to see a little consistency in holding them to account.

Think back to when the previous Cheshire PCC – Labour’s David Keane – appointed his deputy PCC. It was forensically commented on, criticised, ridiculed and even made the pages of national newspapers. The deputy’s personal and professional life were publicly dissected in minute detail for all to see and comment on. It was the sort of scrutiny that few would have been able to withstand.

So fast forward to this week and we now have Tory John Dwyer as our PCC. And lo and behold he has appointed a deputy, David McNeilage, who started his new role on Monday. So where’s the scrutiny? Where’s the public dissection of his life and career? Where’s the forensic examination of his every waking moment?

Who voted for Mr McNeilage? Where was the job advert posted?

We can assume Mr McNeilage is a friend of the new PCC because he was his campaign manager during the election campaign.

So I would ask a few questions here. Where is Mr McNeilage from? What jobs has he done? Where did he gain his ‘sound knowledge of the diverse communities across Cheshire’? Where did he gain his ‘knowledge and understanding of the police service and the criminal justice system’? (These are requirements from the job description).

We do know Mr McNeilage has worked in Parliament for an MP. But what did he do for this MP and which MP was it?

Now you may think I am being a little intrusive but if you think back to the level of scrutiny the previous Labour deputy PCC faced when she was appointed, I don’t think I’m being intrusive at all.

For the record. Mr McNeilage will be paid £38,250 a year plus expenses, exactly 50 per cent of the £76,500 Mr Dwyer is paid as PCC.