Wokingham Borough Conservatives launch petition to keep weekly bin collection
A petition has been launched by Wokingham Borough Council’s Conservative councillors encouraging residents to show their support for weekly collection of bins.
The Conservatives, who form the Council’s Opposition, have challenged the Liberal Democrat-led coalition administration to keep the current waste service that residents have “repeatedly made clear” they want.
Pointing to the fact that weekly bin collection was maintained by the Conservatives for 20 years, the Opposition are now demanding that the coalition listen to residents.
The petition follows a refusal by the Liberal Democrat-led coalition to guarantee that they would keep weekly collection if local people clearly indicated that this is what they wanted.
The administration has promised to hold a public consultation, but the Conservatives have stated that they have “no confidence” that the coalition will honour the outcome.
In June 2022, the administration ignored the responses from a public consultation calling for elections once every four years, and instead implemented elections in three out of every four years.
Collecting rubbish every week is important because it ensures that families, especially with small children, arenot stuck with nappies and other non-recyclable waste.
Many homes in the Borough have nowhere to store waste and no external access to back gardens, leading to rubbish piling up and a public health problem.
Cllr Norman Jorgensen, Shadow Executive Member for Environment and Leisure, said:
“Careful Conservative management of the Council’s money made it possible for us to keep weekly bin collection for 20 years, even when other local authorities, strapped for cash, went to fortnightly, or even three-weekly collection.
“Local people have repeatedly been clear that they want to keep weekly collection, and we’re urging you to sign our petition to make your voice heard.
You can sign our petition here: https://www.wokinghamconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/keep-weekly-bin-collections-campaign
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