Liverpool Council has given an update on stickers being issued as part of its new controversial green bin collection scheme.
Garden waste bins that were paid for through a £40 a year charge were picked up for the first time yesterday as the programme got underway. As the scheme enters its first week, Cllr Abdul Qadir, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, has asked residents to bear with the local authority as it encounters “implementation issues”.
Those who signed up for the scheme by Friday April 8 will have their bins collected this week alongside scheduled recycling pick-ups. A sticker, corresponding to the address of the property printed on it, will have been sent in the post. This must be placed on the green bin to ensure collection.
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Those whose green bin is due to be collected next week will receive stickers this week, according to the council. Payments taken after April 8 will take up to 15 days to process and the bin will be emptied in the subsequent fortnightly cycle.
For anyone who has paid but their sticker has gone missing in the post, a new sticker will be issued, free of charge. Cllr Carole Storey, Liberal Democrat member for Childwall, said she had been inundated by complaints from residents over the scheme.
She said: “The way that this issue has been handled by the Labour controlled council is absolutely farcical.” She added that it was a proposal the party would seek to reverse in next year’s budget.
Cllr Qadir said: “As this is the first week of the new paid for service there is going to be some implementational issues and we will try to respond to them as fast as possible. I know some people have not received their sticker and this is being looked into as matter of urgency.
“For people whose paid for green bin collection is due next week, their stickers are to be posted this week. Of course, people can continue to pay all through the rest of this year – it’s never too late to opt-in for this service."
