| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Stirling Road recycling centre | |
| Posted by: | Philippa Bond | |
| Date/Time: | 30/11/24 10:40:00 |
| Simon. You give the wrong impression about Council Tax. Govt has been in control of that for years - reducing the grant Govt gave to Councils and then only allowing Councils to increase Council Tax by a small percentage and specifying what that could be used for - social care - which is greatly needed especially with an increasing elderly population. In an effort to reduce the size of State responsibility Govt employed Consultants to see where costs could be saved and it was one of these who recommended that garden waste which Councils don't or didn't have a statutory duty to collect could be charged for. I argued against this then as I could see that this was likely to mean a reduction in green spaces as householders paved or concreted over them to save money. Increased hard surfaces exacerbate heat and flooding whereas trees, shrubs and gardens contribute to everyone's wellbeing as well as allowing water to percolate the surface. If you walk down a street instead of just getting into a car and whizzing off in your own little bubble you would appreciate this. You are also more likely to see, greet and chat to neighbours. This also meant that many of those who composted their garden waste to enrich their garden soil making it more porous and feed their garden plants and consequent butterflies and bees etc stopped and took advantage of what was initially a free collection. (Garden waste was banned from black bag household waste collections.) A good tradition lost with further consequences. |