Please see below my letter to Clive Jones, Leader of Wokingham Borough Council:
Dear Clive
I was most disappointed to read the Council’s Consultation document on refuse disposal. There are only two services which all householders and Council taxpayers use and rely on from the Council, the provision of roads and the weekly waste collection. One of the popular things about the services provided by Wokingham in recent years has been the continued provision of a weekly refuse service, combined with substantial recycling of many parts of domestic refuse. I think you would be wise to continue with a weekly waste collection.
What is the cost of providing wheelie bins for all and who pays? If these bins are made of plastic what is the environmental impact of their production?
It may be possible to provide additional recycling facilities, as we all agree the less we put to landfill the better. It is important not to let large quantities of waste build up by the side of people’s houses, given the way these can be disrupted by local animals or affected by wind and weather. I would urge you to think again, whilst seeing what more can be done to reuse, recycle or use for energy conversion more of the waste streams coming from our homes.
Will the Council act in accordance with public wishes on weekly collections in response to the consultation?
Yours sincerely
Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP, DPhil FCSI
October 27, 2022
Dear Sir John
Will you share with us the reply you receive from the Leader of Wokingham Borough Council regarding waste collectio? It is my personal opinion that the Council has decided what they want to do and will take no heed of the public consultation. It is the same story with the money they want to waste redesigning Rose Street and Peach Street. They will ruin Wokingham. Sigh….
October 27, 2022
Sir John
Rubbish collection was always weekly since Victoria Times for a good reason….. Namely it relates to the life cycle of flies. Their gestation period is eight days, therefore weekly collection ensures we are not overrun with flies. Flies spread a whole range of diseases.
I agree more needs to be recycled. I would like to see kerbside glass collection. Not everyone drives nor can walk that well.
What I cannot get my tiny btain around is how can councils make disposal of waste difficult and expensive and then appear surprised when fly tipping levels increase thus costing us all a fortune.
All too often I think to myself that if I wanted to set out to do something badly, I would copy the council or government.
I agree with Kayla, in effect, consultations are just a tick box exercise and are then ignored if the wrong answer is given. Most of the authority ‘s surveys etc ask leading questions to get the answer they want.
October 30, 2022
Sir Johm
Fully agree with your letter and the two posts above.
I haven’t signed up for the consultation document yet, but it seems to offer only two options neither of which is to retain weekly collections. And history of this type of consultation in Wokingham is that the decision is already made…
November 2, 2022
Indeed what is the point of consultation documents/procedures when the Council take no notice of comments.
The Increase in Car Parking fees, and an extension of the times involved being just one recent example.
Likewise agree with Kayla’s post above, with the farcical proposal of the complete re-design and restrictions to traffic of the four major roads in the Town Centre, all hidden under the Councils website’s cycling and walking banner !
Then we have the stupid Idea of removing the free flowing Woosehill roundabout, to install a tee junction with Traffic Lights.
Then we have the nonsense of having to book a slot at the local Bracknell and Reading tips (introduced during Covid), which clearly reduces their capacity so ask yourself where does this rubbish now go. ?
Likewise charging for some waste disposal at the same tips, and guess what, Fly tipping seems to be on the increase.
This is all proving to be a very, very expensive box ticking exercise with faux democracy.
Seems like the LibDems are now finding out, to our cost, it is far more difficult to manage Council affairs than it is to simply criticise others.