Pickles on charging for waste collection

Eric Pickles MP, former council leader from Bradford (I believe) and Conservative Local Government spokesman has issued a very welcome press release supporting the line we took on 'chip 'n bin' microchips and their possible uses over the Berrylands trial (see earlier post.)

As he points out, the Labour government is lobbying Councils to use chips for just this purpose, whatever our local Executive member may say. It's worth quoting the release extensively:-

New town hall bin taxes will harm environment and poorer families
Conservatives oppose plans for army of bin inspectors and secret bin spies

Conservatives reacted with concern today (8th January 2007) at lobbying of the Labour Government by town halls, calling for local authorities to be given the power to charge families for collecting household rubbish - on top of council tax. This would require massive expenditure on a new army of municipal inspectors to check bins and ‘bin bug’ spies and compulsory wheelie bins to be installed in every home inBritain.
The Keep Britain Today Campaign has warned that these new rubbish taxes would cause a surge in fly-tipping, with families being hit the hardest by the new taxes.
Eric Pickles MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said:“There is already massive public resentment at the way working families and pensioners are being punished by punitive levels of council tax. Now every household in Britain faces the prospect of new rubbish taxes on top, combined with their bins only being collected once a fortnight. I fear the poorest households will be hit the hardest.
“Bin taxes would be deeply harmful to the local environment by causing a surge in fly-tipping, and cuts to the frequency of rubbish collection are already harming public health due to the increase in smells, vermin and infestations. Is it too much to ask for our streets to be cleaned and bins to be emptied ?”