Sefton Council decided to press on with the ordering of up to 100,000 new blue bins after Conservative and Labour members on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee blocked a Liberal Democrat move to hold back until the public had been properly consulted.
The meeting took place on Monday night.
The Liberal Democrats argued that the scheme would fail unless it had widespread public support and could then fail to meet its environmental and financial targets.
“There are genuine concerns amongst the public about the need for a fourth Sefton bin and the numbers of properties prepared to accommodate them”, stated Cllr. John Pugh, Liberal Democrat council leader, “so its just good sense to consult rather than impose. ”
“Sefton has spent millions of pounds on consultants over the years- a little money spent asking the public about such a basic day to day issue should not be a problem.”
“Glass recycling is something we all want to do as a community, but how to do it best is the issue. The Council have chosen a path that they hope will leave them in profit but there are so many untested assumptions in their calculations, no-one would bet on it.
With the government promising to review re-cycling credits, introduce bottle deposit schemes and the public uptake of blue bins in doubt, it’s hard to be sure.”
Cllr. Pugh welcomed the undertaking by Sefton officers, given at Monday’s meeting, that they would be flexible as they rolled out the new scheme.
However, Liberal Democrats remain convinced that an accurate assessment of the levels of likely participation should occur before the council commits the £1.7 million necessary to purchase the new bins.
“ Many might prefer a smaller container within the existing recycling bin”.
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