Labour vote down amendment protecting fortnightly bin collections

Liverpool Lib Dems put forward an amendment seeking to protect fortnightly bin collections after a Labour councillor and former Cabinet Member doubled down on suggesting the council should move over to monthly or 3-weekly collection for its purple bins.

The Lib Dems have stated that they would fight against any plans by the council to cut bin collections to as little as once a month. If Labour cut purple bin collections, residents could be left waiting for weeks with overflowing bins.

The Liberal Democrat amendment called for the council to learn from the lessons of its food waste pilot, as well as for the cabinet to reconsider whether the green waste charge is delivering the best value for money for residents. The main emphasis of the amendment called on the council to “reject the calls by some to reduce purple bin collections to as infrequently as once a month and instead recommit itself to retaining fortnightly bin collections for purple bins.”

Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, said:

“We wanted a clear signal from the administration that they rejected the calls from their own benches to cut purple bin collections down to as little as once a month. What did the Labour Party do? They chose to vote it down. It’s evident to the voters that only one party is committed to protecting fortnightly bin collections – the Liberal Democrats.

“We need to improve our recycling rates, and that starts by rethinking Labour’s Green Bin Tax – it’s already ended up costing the city more money with a bigger bill for landfill tax as lots of residents are dumping green waste in their purple bins. Cutting bin collections would only result in more.

“I know many opposition councillors have raised serious concerns about the rollout of the food waste bins, in particular for the areas of our city with the highest density of housing that aren't being included in the pilot phase. We need to do everything we can to make this a success, and that means confronting the difficult challenges head on.