Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore prepares to hand in the petition with campaigners
A petition signed by 4,220 people from the Kingswood constituency calling for South Gloucestershire Council to reconsider the controversial annual charge for the collection of green bins has been presented to the authority.
The petition, which was handed in at Kingswood Civic Centre today by MP Chris Skidmore, is over the threshold of 2,500 signatures to trigger a debate and will be discussed on 5th June at the council’s Communities Committee.
The council expects the total participation rate to be 23,000 subscribers and by last week 22,000 residents had signed up to the controversial green bin charge. Conservatives have questioned what is happening to the green waste belonging to the other 89,000 households in the district.
The service, which offers fortnightly kerbside garden waste collection for a fee of £36 per year, has previously been paid for as part of council tax bills.
The council says the strategy aims to increase opportunities for residents to recycle, while helping the council to balance service costs against income at a time when all local authorities are receiving less money from the Government.
The Conservatives claim that Labour and Lib Dem councillors voted for the tax without proper consultation with residents.
