Green Bin Tax

I’m sure many of you have been made aware of the Council’s decision to introduce a Green Bin Tax. Has it gone down well? From some people I’ve spoken to, a bit of a mixed bag. But I would say, it seems more are against the decision than for it. I know that they’ve had a similar scheme in place in neighbouring Flintshire and other authorities for quite some years. But that’s not really the issue. What’s right for one council and its residents does not make it right for every location.

So, what is the Green Bin Tax? In short, it is an extra £40 a year charge imposed on top of normal Council Tax charges for CWAC to collect and dispose of our green, garden waste. These plans to charge this extra amount have been given the go ahead at a meeting held at Chester Racecourse. The cost of which apparently was £6,000. More on this later.

It seems that the Green Bin Tax decision has stirred quite a debate on forums and such like. Some of the comments made are of a political nature, so I’m not going in that direction. However, many comments were very practical.

The intention of this post is to firstly announce the decision and provide a link to the original article announcing the decision. In addition, this link shows the debate going on by quite a few residents. Also, I will add a link to a proposed petition challenging the decision. I did say, it has stirred quite a debate.

Right then, let’s take a closer look at the Green Bin Tax.

Green Bin Tax

The article notifying me of CWAC’s decision was sent to me by regular contributor, John from Blacon. Have a look at this link HERE to see what the Green Bin Tax is all about. Thanks John.

No sooner the decision is made and there is talk of a petition opposing the decision. John has again very kindly sent me the link to that announcement. You can the link for this development HERE.

As I’ve already mentioned much of the debate is political. And, as such, there is no intention for me to enter any political arena. How does the old saying go, when in a pub don’t get involved in a ny discussion on politics, religion or football rivalry.

An interesting spin-off, if you can call it, of this Green Bin Tax discussion is how and where the actual decision was made. Which in itself opens up further debate.

Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?

The article in the local press made reference to the meeting where the Green Bin Tax was decided. This particular meeting was held at Chester Racecourse. At a cost of £6,000 apparently. One poster in the forum link above seemed to justify, firstly, the need to have an in person meeting (as opposed to a digital meeting – i.e. Zoom sort of thing) and secondly, the cost. Or to put a part (b) on the second issue of the cost, why was it held externally?

I don’t think there was that much of an issue of it being an in person meeting. However, having said that, as an online meeting wasn’t suitable, and an in person meeting was required, I’m assuming that all councillors attended?

The main issue though was that it was held at an external venue at a cost of £6,000. The same poster suggested that this cost included the officers time. Hmmm……I’m not sure about that. The only way of course to clarify how this cost was arrived at is for full transparency. Another poster commented that there has been a request for the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Now that will be interesting. Put aside the amount of £6,000. The amount is not the only, or main issue. It could have been £60k or £6m. I think the main issue (as the comment pointed out), it is important that the correct procedures were adhered to. Full transparency of how this amount came about will be the only way to clarify this.

As I say, robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Request For Transparency

For my sins, some years ago, I used to work for public sector external auditors. Procurement of goods and services was always a hot topic. And rightly so. So, there is some thinking and logic in my “hmmmm….I’m not sure about that” comment as to whether or not councillors time costs are included in the £6k. Only a look at the file will confirm that.

Anyway, I’ll message whoever it was who suggested and requested the report and see if it is something I can have a look at. If it is provided that is.

So, on the one hand, the authority are looking to justify the extra charge to local residents, but then on the other hand, commit to expenditure that has, not unsurprisingly, raised questions. As another poster mentioned, the £6,000 equates to 150 green waste collections at £40 each.

Green Bin Tax – Reaching The Decision

Another comment of interest in the forum thread was the mention of an opinion poll. The comment read as follows: ” “On the poll of public opinion 85% of households were against charging for green waste disposal . Why canvas public opinion and not act on the result ?“

Now, if that is accurate then the question of “why canvas public opinion and not act as a result” is a very valid point. No doubt, someone, somewhere will have an answer as to why 85% of households were ignored. But, that takes us into the realms of full transparency again.

Regular visitors to my Chester Lifestyle website with longish memories, may remember a post I wrote some time back about a suggestion for a local think tank and whether it was worth it. You can read the original post HERE. Now, I’m not suggesting that every Council decision becomes a subject for a local think tank debate, but if there was an opinion poll set up for it, then it would seem that it was a topic of significant enough importance. So, maybe this particular topic would have benefitted from a local think tank discussion.

But instead of a local think tank type of discussion and a public opinion vote against the scheme as high as 85%, how was the decision made to go ahead with it? One of the justifications of course will be the need to raise much needed revenues. We understand that. But then, how is the external venue cost of £6,000 justified?

Watch This Space

Anyway, the decision has been made. But, as we now know, there is also a petition in place to try and reverse the decision. From our point of view, we don’t have a garden so green waste is not an issue for us. Mind you there are some yards that back onto our alley and, even now before the introduction of the £40, those that have a tree or big bush get trimmed now and then. The waste from these trimmings? Dumped in the alleyway. I don’t think there’s much chance of these households volunteering to pay an extra £40 a year, do you?

Will the extra charge result in more fly tipping? Again, watch this space. One of my biggest concerns however, is focused on the £6k issue.

Thanks for reading my latest blog post – “Green Bin Tax” – and thanks for visiting my Chester Lifestyle website. Much appreciated on both counts.

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