At last, a bit of common sense from Shropshire Council! This morning, the portfolio holder for waste and recycling, Ian Nellins, announced at Cabinet that cars will not need to book from 17 February. Users will need to show proof of address; a driver’s licence, council tax bill or utility bill.
Vans and trailers will still need to book.
More than 7,500 people signed a Shropshire Lib Dem petition to scrap the booking system. We need local solutions for local needs. We might need to demand proof of address at some household recycling centres and not others. It is time to bring a stop to saying what works in Oswestry works in Bridgnorth.
Common sense has been forced on the council after a mass of complaints. It is victory for the people who value their tips. Who want to recycle. Who want to get rid of excess general waste. Who have a surge in green waste that can’t go in their green bins. Who find fly-tipping abhorrent.
The only data we have is that the booking system has led to a 16% drop in the volume of waste taken to the household recycling centres and a 20% increase in fly-tipping. An update wasn’t given this morning and that leads to the suspicion that the numbers have got worse.
The system was brought in to save £200,000 a year. It was never clear how this would be saved, other than reducing use which reduces costs because the council makes some payments to Veolia by volume. It is not clear whether any money has been saved but we were told at cabinet this morning that the new system didn’t cost any money.
Whether the booking system cost money or not, the introduction of the booking system cost political capital for the current Conservative administration and showed their incompetence.
The Lib Dems were committed to scrapping the system if we gain control at the May elections. Now, we will need to look at whether booking for vans and trailers is still needed, rather than restricting the times they can come to create space for other users. These rules might vary between household recycling centres. We will look at whether proof of address is needed at all or just some of the HRCs, or at no HRCs. Lib Dems have always had a local focus and we need that for the tips. It is time to stop saying what works in Whitchurch, works in Craven Arms. We need local solutions for local needs.
As if any more evidence of the Council’s incompetence were needed… this at least is good news. But we had told them, right from the start of the consultation exercise, that the booking system would a) cost money to set up, b) lead to a drop in use, and c) result in an increase in fly-tipping, d) causing more and longer-term expense to the Council (and thus us, the taxpayers who have been inconvenienced in the meantime. I shall rejoice when we get a non-Tory majority of councillors.