Falling Recycling Rates Prompt Call for Radical Overhaul

2.37.07pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 23rd May 2010

Cllr Gareth Wilson has called for an overhaul of East Cambs recycling service

Liberal Democrats are calling for a radical overhaul of East Cambridgeshire's household rubbish collection service as recycling rates start to fall.

The figure started dropping after the Tory administration on the district council scrapped the household plastic bottle collection and removed the Tetrapak bottle banks.

Now East Cambridgeshire's recycling rate is just 35 per cent - a fall of two per cent in recent months - making it by far, the worst in the county. Huntingdonshire and Cambridge City Council recycle well over 50 per cent of their rubbish.

Lib Dems claim that if the Tories had adopted their preferred alternate week rubbish collection and three bin recycling scheme they could have increased the recycling rate and saved almost £300,000 in the last three years.

Ian Allen, Lib Dem Spokesman for Environment and Transport said: "We are missing national and local targets. Ten years ago our district council was top of the league in Cambridgeshire, now the other districts have far outstripped our efforts.

"We must sort out this situation as a matter of urgency; it cannot be allowed to go on. The only reason we are not facing huge landfill penalties is because the other districts are bailing us out. This is nothing short of a total embarrassment."

Liberal Democrat leader, Gareth Wilson said: "We must change the service to address these issues. It is time the Tories accepted that they have made bad errors of judgment over the rubbish collection service and act quickly to put them right before we throw good money after bad."