Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for the scrapping of a controversial green bin charge coming to Liverpool.
From next month, Liverpool Council will charge residents £40 a year to have their garden waste collected in a bid to raise around £1.7m a year as the local authority looks to protect frontline services. The new charge has proved deeply divisive and the council faced a barrage of criticism and questions on its social media pages after it was approved by its full council earlier this month.
Now a petition has been launched in a bid to scrap what it calls “the green bin tax.” Started by Kevin Robinson-Hale, the online petition has garnered more than 500 signatures opposing the charge.
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Addressed to Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, the petition by Mr Robinson-Hale - who is standing as the Green Party candidate in next month’s Everton ward by-election - said: “Please scrap the planned £40 'Green Bin Tax’. This extra payment on top of maximum increase that you will impose in Council Tax (2.99%) will lead to the most vulnerable in our city being affected alongside the £20 per week Universal Credit cut and the fact that electricity and gas bills for a typical household will go up by £693 a year in April.
“All these combined will create a 'Perfect Storm' of people suffering more financial hardship. The worry is will the Labour led council then impose a Blue Bin Tax? Or a Purple Bin Tax?
“When will the line be drawn? Please Stop And Scrap The Green Bin Tax.”
Mr Robinson-Hale told the ECHO: "Everton is the most deprived ward in Liverpool and to have dozens of residents contact me about an extra charge for services that they pay council tax for is worrying."
The new fee-paying cycle begins on Monday, April 18 - at which point all green bin collections must be paid for and only bins with correct certification will be collected. Those who do not wish to take part in the scheme, can keep their bin if they want to opt into the scheme at a later date, or have it removed.
Those wishing to have their bin collected from April 18 must ensure they are registered by Friday April 8. More than 4,000 households have already signed up for the scheme with Cllr Abdul Qadir, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, telling a committee earlier this month that for the scheme to break even, a 33% take up is required, the equivalent of 49,000 homes across the city.
