THE August bank holiday will see the last roll forward of rubbish and recycling collection days, as Waverley Council's Conservative administration brings in same-day collections before Christmas. The change will come at a cost not yet made public, though Lib Dems have said it will add between one and one-and-a-half per cent to council tax. Opposition groups voted against the move in a volatile debate at a full council meeting last week, causing council leader Richard Gates to tell the Lib Dems: "I am deeply disappointed to be lectured by the party that brought us smelly bins." Fellow Tory Adam Taylor-Smith accused them of "opposition for opposition's sake". The Conservatives claim they are fulfilling a manifesto commitment and that the roll-forward system has been a sorce of confusion and irritation to many residents. But Lib Dem councillor Celia Savage insisted: "This is messing about at the edges. Are you going to say 'right, we are going back to weekly collections'? It may not help recycling, but that's what people seem to want." Independent councillor Alan Lovell said people's concerns included the frequency of collections, plus smells and vermin, the number of separate boxes and the range of materials collected. "We need a good solution rather than a quick solution," he said, suggesting that spending money on doing away with the roll-forward might prevent more valuable alternative solutions. "The proposals do result in immediate and obvious improvements to the service," declared Mr Gates. "They meet residents' concerns and do not impinge on any future reviews that may take place." Leader of the Lib Dem opposition Ken Reed stated the proposal would add between one and one-and- a-half per cent to council tax. "I have to ask for what gain?" He asserted: "Clearly tinkering with dates around bank holidays will not affect smelling summer bins one iota, and a House of Commons select committee is of the same view. "As with all our manifesto commitments, we want to get on and deliver," said deputy council leader Pat Frost, stressing that the change was not the only one Waverley would be making to the system. "People really do want some certainty about when their rubbish is going to be collected and when their recycling is going to be collected," she added. Environment portfolio holder John Sandy said that as far as smelly bins were concerned, it was up to everyone to take responsibility for their own in the way they had been advised. "People are not wrapping up their waste and making it secure and then not closing the bin. You walk around and see lids that are yawning."
