The warning came after Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council was forced to scrap its new alternate-week collection of refuse and green waste following complaints from residents.
Local campaigners had been concerned that health risks might be incurred by the council not collecting ordinary household rubbish every week. After a petition signed by 13,000 people urging the council to restore the weekly collections, the council has voted to bow to householders' demands. The borough resumed its weekly collections this week.
In a letter to residents explaining the reasons behind the council's decision, chief executive Christine Kerr said that re-introducing the weekly collections would “make our targets extremely hard to meet and will inevitably increase costs”.
She explained that the borough currently recycles about 6% of its household waste, but has landfill diversion targets of 18% by 2003-04 and 26% by 2005-06.
Ms Kerr warned residents: “It is important to remember that, should the council not meet these targets, the government has the power to direct the council to reallocate resources, to charge individual householders for the amount refuse they collect and, if necessary, intervene in the way we collect and dispose of our refuse.”
The council's decision to return to the weekly collection service also involved problems in the supply of green wheeled bins needed for the green waste collections, Ms Kerr said. Problems have also occurred because of contaminated cardboard and kitchen waste being included in the green waste collections.
However, as the weekly collection of refuse is resumed, the council has said that it will be continuing to collect garden waste every other week in the borough. It also has plans for an education programme on the reduction and recycling of household waste to increase public participation in its recycling programme.
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