Green wheelie bin "delay"

"I am not prepared to pay for someone else to have a service denied to me on grounds of cost."

That's the view of a Penland Wood estate resident who is angry that green wheelie bins have not been delivered by Rother District Council.

Lynn Berry has spent the last year chasing up the garden waste container that never materialised as part of the new refuse collection and recycling scheme which started May 2007.

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She was initially told that the shortage was due to supply problems with the manufacturer and there would be a slight delay, and feels she was "lied" to.

"You know how many bins you need because you know how many residents you have got. That is a finite number," she commented.

She was advised she could put garden waste into black rubbish bags and leave it with ordinary bin collection but can't see the sense of adding it to landfill.

When she contacted Rother most recently she was told there was still no sign of green wheelie bins arriving but that now there was an extra problem.

"It is financial," she told the Observer.

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"Rother District Council can't afford to roll this out to everyone because the contractor that collects green wheelie bins has put prices up and now Rother can't afford it for everyone.

"So I am now paying to subsidise people who have one, but I can't have one myself.

"I am reasonably sure that legally that can't be right - it is just not the law.

Rother's Head of Amenities Madeleine Gorman commented: "We are very sorry that we have had to delay the roll-out of green bins to communities across the district, including some areas of Bexhill.

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"Last year we made our budget provision based on the rates tendered by our contractor, Verdant, and published our intent to expand green waste and citadel recycling services.

"Unfortunately the costs proposed by Verdant to provide additional green waste services exceeded the available budget and it has taken some time to resolve the situation.

"As soon as we are able to confirm the areas that can be served we will let residents know. The Council cannot offer a definite timescale until final confirmation of the collection rounds and individual properties to be served is received from Verdant.

"We sincerely apologise that there are ongoing delays with the roll-out but we hope you can understand that we need to carefully control costs.

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"Council tax is a tax rather than a payment for any public service received or implied. It is common for residents in different areas to receive different types of public service, for example street lighting is not provided in many rural areas and many residents need to travel further distances to access swimming pools or play facilities.

"It remains our intention to provide a further 11,000 households with green waste services and residents in the areas to be served will be informed as soon as possible."