Ross Archer is petitioning Labour-dominated Lewisham Council to abandon plans to scrap weekly bin collections as of October. Lewisham already suffers from fly-tippers and local Conservatives fear the move will only make the situation worse. Ross has made tackling fly-tipping one of his priorities if he is elected as the Boroughs Council Chief next May.
In February Labour-dominated Lewisham Council buried the news they were getting rid of the weekly bin collections. Lewisham Conservatives are concerned that removing the weekly bin collections will mean more fly-tipping and that the move could potentially have serious consequences for local public health.
The Labour-run Council claim that weekly bin collections are unaffordable, yet they are spending over £60,000 a year on two political advisors and have spent £500,000 on an inquiry into their mess on the botched Millwall CPO, which would not have been needed if they just listed to local concerns in the first place. The Labour-run Council is also planning to spend a vast amount on a new PR campaign promoting the changes, money which Ross claims could be spent collecting bins rather than talking about it.
Other boroughs which have scrapped weekly bin collections include Camden and Sutton, where the move has resulted in rubbish piling up in the streets. Local Conservatives do not want to see the same in Lewisham.
Ross said “These plans are outrageous. Residents expect the Council to deal with household waste and they are so rubbish they can’t even do that. Labour-dominated Lewisham Council needs to spend its money more wisely. This move could really risk public health and does not help young families who have to dispose of nappies or those with pets who have animal waste to get rid of. If elected Mayor next year I will restore weekly bin collections and tackle fly-tipping across our borough”.
He added “Like many other local people I am proud of my community, but a minority of people are letting the area down by dumping rubbish in our streets. Cutting weekly bin collections won’t solve this, it’ll make it worse”.
You can sign the petition to keep weekly bin collections online at tinyURL.com/LewishamBins