A PETITION has been launched calling on the council to scrap controversial plans to axe weekly bin collections.

Darwen MP Jake Berry and the town’s Conservative councillors are appealing to Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Cllr Mohammed Khan.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The council revealed its plans to stop weekly collections last week as well as announcing the cutting of 500 jobs at the town hall and a new parking charge at Witton Park.

Town Hall bosses also forecasted council tax rises of 3.99 per cent annually, approximately £40 for the average household, over the next three years.

Mr Berry has now started a petition calling on Cllr Khan to reconsider the plans to axe the bin collections.

He said: “Hard-working residents across Darwen, East Rural and North Turton pay a huge amount in council tax, surely the least they can expect in return is to have their bins emptied on a weekly basis.

“I’ve had people contacting me worried about rotting food and dirty nappies in the height of summer, others who have had their collections missed over the winter are concerned they may not have their bin emptied for a month.

“This is nothing to do with cuts, if the council can afford £5million for a new bus station in Blackburn they can afford to empty our bins on a weekly basis.”

Proposals were set out at a council forum this month which stated that weekly burgundy bin collections would move to fortnightly ones alternated with grey bins for recyclable waste from October.

Critics have slammed the proposals as ‘scandalous’ with leading opposition councillors accusing the Labour administration of ‘conning’ voters by concealing the cuts before May’s local government polls.

Cllr Jim Smith, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for the Environment portfolio, said: “We have no choice but to save money with the government cuts.

“Almost everyone across the North West are going to this alternate weekly collection, some are even moving to a three week collection.

“Up to half of the people are already on this system without encouragement.”

When its red bin week we’ve done research and 50% of people aren’t putting the bins out, and then the next week people are putting both bins out. It is certainly doable.

We’ve been doing this now with a family of four and we’ve had no problem.

It’s about encouraging recycling, we need people to be doing this, the number of people recycling has dropped and the financial effect of that is crippling us.

Every help will be offered to those who are active in recycling, and those with disabilities or especially large families will be offered bigger bins.

Darwen Town councillor Lynn Perkins said a ‘multitude of problems’ will occur in Darwen if the council goes through with the plans.

She said: “I totally agree with Jake and think there are much better ways for the council to save money than axe weekly bin collections.

“It’s not so bad if your are a couple but families need their bins to be collected each week.”

“If people haven’t got any room in their bins then there’s going to be black bags left around and that’s when you get vermin and all sorts.

“I would urge people to sign this petition.”

Residents can sign the petition at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/saveourbins.