How we voted on the slash and burn budget

Letter to local papers:
Birmingham City Council is to introduce a range of measures that will harm recycling and waste disposal as part of its move to wheelie bins.

This includes the proposed £35 annual charge on garden waste collection planned to start next year (It's only expecting 25% of households to sign up for this). There will also be major cuts in street cleaning and in services to pick up bulky items, to do street clearance or to pick up dumped piles of rubbish. There will be no bin-bags this year and when wheelie bins come in, households will probably have to pay substantial charges to replace damaged or lost receptacles.

I'd like to assure your readers that all three Perry Barr ward councillors, myself, Karen Hamilton and Ray Hassall voted against these measures this week and put forward a constructive alternative. No other local councillors did. I'm afraid the price of wheelie bins in Birmingham is  going to prove to be very high in terms of the damage to our environment.

Cllr Jon Hunt
52 Perry Avenue

Note: during the budget debate Jon Hunt spoke about the impact of these cuts, warning about piles of   waste piling up, dumped and uncollected. Karen Hamilton spoke against major cuts to the youth services.Ray Hassall had hoped to speak but wasn't called.