Lib Dems call for Fly-tipping apology
Liberal Democrat Councillors are calling for the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change, Councillor Jenny Kent, to apologise for misleading Councillors and the public over fly-tipping and missed bin collections.
This comes after the increase to the Green Bin Tax to £49 and the increase of Bulky Waste Collection of 4 items or more from £27 to £52.50 since Labour took office.
In her report to Full Council on 27th March, Cllr Kent claimed:
“And pleasingly, reports of missed waste collections and fly tipping are both down.”
At the Full Council meeting, Councillor Paula Widdowson asked:
“Your report also mentions that fly tipping is down – official statistics from the council shows that incidents of fly tipping went from 2,368 in 22/23 to 2,500 in 23/24 and after 11 months of this year is already at 2,675 – Are you getting incorrect statistics given to you?
Cllr Jenny Kent responded:
“I am going to delve into those figures and get back to you with a written response but the figures I was given when I wrote the report suggested the figures were down.”
Cllr Kent also seemed to admit that her report was wrong to claim that missed waste collections were down. She said:
“I think there is some digging behind the scenes needing to be done because whilst the same crews are collecting from all properties, the green waste is also included within that. So there is a probably a higher propensity to report if you pay for something, this is human behaviour and those figures are not separated out. But the crews are not reporting any increase in missed waste, I think the numbers of reports may be going up.”
Liberal Democrat Councillors have received confirmation from the Head of the Council’s Business Intelligence Hub that fly tipping reports have increased year on year since Labour took office.
Councillor Paula Widdowson said:
“It is very clear from Cllr Kent’s answers and the official statistics from her own Council that reports of missed waste collection and fly tipping are not down but are in fact increasing year on year under Labour.
“Labour is now charging for green waste collection, meaning that there are 30,000 fewer green bins for the council to collect and still the team has been starved of the resources they need to the point where missed waste collections are up.
“Fly tipping is a blight on our communities and is visibly on the increase across the city with items dumped in snickets, on verges and next to litter bins. We are also seeing green waste being dumped in woodland areas. It is not a victimless crime, as the clean-up costs are paid for by council taxpayers. And Labour’s decision to almost double the cost of bulky waste collections from when they took office risks making a bad situation worse.
“Cllr Kent should apologise to the residents of York for misleading them in her report and should take the menace of fly-tipping more seriously.”