Lid will be lifted on bin row once more

Ashfield residents were furious when the council shrank grey bins from 240 litres to 180 litres earlier this year.

More than 7,000 people signed petitions against the move - a number recognised as the largest mass correspondence ever with Ashfield District Council over any issue.

Councillors Jason Zadrozny and Ben Bradley presented separate petitions asking for alternative recycling methods and that the debate be re-opened for proper public consultation.

The smaller bins were introduced as part of a council strategy to boost the district’s recycling rates in-line with the national target of 50 per cent of waste being recycled by 2020.

In a full council meeting on July 21 Councillors Jason Zadrozny and Tom Hollis will set out a motion to assemble a cross-party working group to review the changes, their impact on residents and their effectiveness.

The motion reads: “Many residents remain unhappy with the new system and struggle with the new reduced capacity for residual waste.

“Ashfield residents are simultaneously some of the best recyclers in the country and some of the highest payers of council tax.

“The result of the EU referendum will mean that the European Union will not be setting recycling targets or fines for the district as previously feared by the administration.

“Internal reports from Ashfield District Council demonstrate it would be possible to have weekly collections of residual waste while maintaining all other collections for under £500,000 per year.”