£250m weekly bin collections fund is what people want, says Pickles

Government fund being set up to help local authorities in England switch from fortnightly to weekly rounds Eric Pickles has defended the government’s plans to offer councils financial support to restore weekly rubbish collections , saying the proposal is what most people want. A £250m fund is being set up to help local authorities in England switch from fortnightly to weekly bin rounds under plans unveiled by the communities and local government secretary. Conservatives see the policy as delivering on a pledge the party made in opposition. In June, the coalition government faced criticism after its waste review revealed that councils would not have to bring back weekly waste collections . Labour accused the government of breaking a pre-election promise to abandon fortnightly bin collections, describing it as a “huge missed opportunity”. Unveiling the move ahead of the Tory party conference in Manchester, Pickles said: “Weekly rubbish collections are the most visible of all frontline services, and I believe every household in England has a basic right to have their rubbish collected every week. “Our fund will help councils deliver weekly collections and, in the process, make it easier for families to go green and improve the local environment.” He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme that “most people would prefer to see a weekly collection”, but stressed that it would be up to individual local authorities to decide how they gathered their waste. “If councils want to have a fortnightly collection and are supported by their populations, then fair enough,” he said. Despite dismissing suggestions that the announcement was designed to attract favourable publicity in the run-up to the conference, Pickles conceded: “I may be making a passing reference to this on my speech on Monday.” He said that while the money on offer was more than originally planned, it was still the result of careful budgeting. “The total money available … is £1bn, so to be able to find a quarter of a billion is something that we had to put our mind to,” he said. “It’s not easy to find [these sums] – my department had been cutting down a lot on waste.” The £250m weekly collections support scheme is expected to begin in April. Funding will be available to English councils that guarantee to retain or reinstate weekly collections for at least five years and pledge to improve recycling rates and provide improvements such as reducing fly-tipping and litter. Councils will be able to bid for funding individually or in groups and can include the private sector “where this increases value for money”, Pickles said. Last year, the communities secretary told the Daily Mail he was an ardent supporter of weekly bin collections , explaining: “It’s a basic right for every English man and woman to be able to put the remnants of their chicken tikka masala in their bin without having to wait a fortnight for it to be collected.” Eric Pickles Conservatives Liberal-Conservative coalition Conservative conference 2011 Local government Waste Cherry Wilson Sam Jones guardian.co.uk

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