Opposition councillors have called for an investigation into the soaring rate of fly-tipping across Cheshire West and Chester, questioning whether the cost of green bin collections is partly to blame.
But the council’s ruling Labour group said the borough still had one of the lowest rates in the country.
Figures released by the borough’s Conservative group show fly tipping cases have rocketed in the first half of the year to 1,896, compared to 967 for the same period last year.
They said the total cost to the council was £133,906 - compared to £87,745 for the same period in 2023.
Cllr Simon Eardley, shadow cabinet member for the environment, called the rise ‘worrying’ and said it added a burden on local taxpayers. He also urged a ‘thorough examination’ of the reasons for the spike.
He said: “We must also ask whether or not the political decisions of the leadership of the council are also contributing to the increase too, with the danger of more to come.
“For example, when the Labour administration first introduced their charge on green waste, we raised serious concerns that this might lead to an increase in fly-tipping, particularly on country lanes around the area. Has the increase in the charge from £40 per year to £50 this year had a negative impact already?”
He added: “We also had the news recently, revealed in an answer to a question posed to full council in July, that the administration won’t categorically rule out the introduction of there weekly ‘black bin’ waste collections from the current fortnightly practice. This could increase the risk of fly-tipping further in the future.”
Labour’s Cllr Karen Shore, council deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, highways and transport, said: “Cheshire West continues to have one of the lowest fly tipping rates in the country. Our residents have not turned into fly-tipping criminals in response to reasonable and cost-price charges for garden waste collections - which Conservative councils also charge for."
She added: "Fourteen years of Tory government cuts have decimated our hospitals, the police and local councils, with more than half a billion pounds taken from Cheshire West and Chester Council alone. Despite this, Cheshire West Labour will continue to offer fortnightly black bin collections and household waste recycling centres."
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