Row rages over bin collections

Tameside Council’s decision to introduce fortnightly rubbish collections in three more wards have met with howls of rebuke from the Conservative group.Residents in the three wards, Gee Cross, Newton and Hartshead, have been informed by leaflet that the new collection schedule will come into force within the month.Tameside Council says the new collections encourage recycling and reduce household waste.But the borough’s Conservatives claim the council has announced the plans without consultation and “at the eleventh hour”.Cllr. Richard Ambler, Conservative ward councillor for Ashton Hurst ward, said: “It is a mere matter of decent civility that they should have undertaken a consultation with residents.“Neither my Conservative ward colleague, Cllr. John Kelly, nor I have been informed of these changes to the collection on the Hartshead Estate; residents have been left as equally in the dark.”Tameside’s top Tory, Cllr John Bell, claimed that some leaflets were delivered to the wrong areas causing unnecessary alarm and anger.He said: “Back in March, the Government claimed that fortnightly bin collections work best when the public are informed well in advance of any change.“Clearly Tameside Council has decided to ignore this advice and now faces an uphill battle to convince residents in Gee Cross, Newton and Hartshead about the benefits of a fortnightly collection.”However, the Conservative claims have been dismissed by environmental cabinet officer Catherine Piddington.She said the Conservative group had supported the introduction of the “managed collection” at a full council meeting last year.She said. “This is typical of the Conservative group.“They offered their full support at a full council meeting and then they go out of their way to scaremonger people.”Furthermore, Councillor Piddington claimed Councillor Basil Beeley, Conservative environmental spokesman, had also been informed about the plans to introduce the managed collections.She said: “As far as I am concerned he was made aware on September 5 when he was taken to the recycling plant in Droylsden and he made it clear he was fully supportive.“It was his responsibility to inform his group the new rota was coming in.”However, Councillor Beeley disputed this version, stating: “I was told on my visit to the recycling plant by a senior environmental officer that any new collections would be made in the Droylsden area.“There was no mention of anywhere else. When I became aware of the real location of the new style collections, I later challenged the officer and he apologised for what he described as a genuine mistake.“Furthermore, as a ward councillor for Stalybridge South, I am still awaiting the results of the trial which has been on-going in my ward for the last two years.“The Conservative group does not object to the changes but we need to be kept informed.”As regards the survey relating to the feedback of managed collections, Councillor Piddington said letters had been sent out to households in the Stalybridge South and Longendale Areas in the past couple of weeks and the council was “awaiting the results to come back.”She added: “As for Councillor’s Beeley’s claim that he is still awaiting trial feedback results, he was sent the same leaflet the other residents received in his area last July.”The council will be providing four bins, blue for paper, green for glass and cans, brown for garden waste, black for household waste.By encouraging people to divide their rubbish, separating recyclable material from ordinary rubbish, the council says the new style collections can cut household waste by up to 50 per cent.
Source Tameside Reporter & Glossop Chronicle

Lack of ‘decent civility’ as Hartshead, Gee Cross and Newton residents informed of new arrangements at the ‘eleventh hour’

Conservatives across Tameside have reacted with anger this week as residents received leaflets at the “eleventh hour”, informing them that their black bin collection will be going fortnightly within the next month.Conservatives stated that the council had not shown “decent civility” towards residents in Gee Cross, Newton and on Ashton’s Hartshead Estate, by foisting the last minute transformation of the service on them without any consultation being undertaken.
Full article can be found at Tameside Conservatives