BATTLE OF THE BINS DIVIDES BRUM COALITION

27-11-2007

Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors in Birmingham’s ruling “Progressive Partnership” have found themselves at war – over the unlikely subject of wheelie bins.

The Scrutiny Committee which oversees Transportation and Street Services – which is chaired by Stirrer Message Board regular Martin Mullaney – is recommending investment in a £1million pilot project to see whether the bins should replace the green plastic bags currently used to collect garden waste.

Mullaney’s Lib Dem colleague Jerry Evans and two Labour councillors – Kath Hartley and Steve Bedser – all support the proposal, but the committee’s two Tories, Tim Huxtable and Robert Alden are opposed.

They’ve created the first “minority report” in the three years of the coalition.

The Conservative Cabinet member Len Gregory has also signalled his strong disapproval, warning that the proposed trial would involve residents putting out different types of waste on various days.

He also says that the initial cost wouldn’t be recouped.

Mullaney effectively accuses Gregory of sticking his head in the sand and refusing to even contemplate change.

In an official letter replying to Gregory’s negative response, he writes “One of the basic principles of our review is that we approached the subject from the perspective of ensuring that we consider all the options, rather than ruling any out.”

The majority report complied by Mullaney and his colleagues suggests that a pilot scheme would only be attempted if it was agreed at local constituency level.

It’s argued that wheelie bins would pay for themselves over six years by eliminating the need green sacks, and would eventually allow for garden waste and other recycled materials to be collected together. They are also reckoned to be much easier for pensioners and others to handle than heavy, unwieldy bags.

Tory Tim Huxtable who co-authored the minority report argued that because recycled waste would be collected on different days to household rubbish it would generate more traffic and add to confusion for residents.

He also warned that it would slow down rounds which would therefore become more expensive. And wheelie bins he claimed, account for one in five acts of arson on Merseyside.

But he pooh-poohed the idea of a Tory-Lib Dem split, saying, “Scrutiny is a non-political process. We take off our party hats and make comments from our own personal viewpoint about what’s best for the city.

“It’s good to have a majority and minority report because it helps to provoke a discussion.”

Reading between the lines, it’s clear that the Conservatives who hold the whip hand in the coalition are terrified of any hint that wheelie bins could be the “thin end of the wedge”, heralding the eventual introduction of fortnightly collections in Birmingham.

Conservative leader Mike Whitby reckoned the coalition vote held up in the 2007 local elections because Brum remains a “weekly” city.

Wheelie bins - good idea or not?

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