THE number of wheelie bins delivered by Cheshire East Council has risen by 20 per cent over the past five years.

CEC came under fire over the summer after it announced a charge for new and replacement wheelie bins, which came into effect last month.

But figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show the local authority has supplied hundreds more bins each year than the last since 2014 – at an average cost of £20 per bin.

And the council says that demand for wheelie bins has now dropped since the charge of up to £30 was brought in.

Asked why the number of bins supplied increased in recent years, a CEC spokesman said: “The council has no definitive data but the increase is likely to be due to the natural replacement of bins through loss or breakage coupled with a high number of new homes being built within Cheshire East.

“We are aware that the council’s publishing, though consultation, of its proposal to charge for bin supply has resulted in a higher demand for new or replacement bins in the months running up to the charge being produced.

“In the first few weeks of charging, this demand has now reduced – suggesting there may not be an overall increase in a full year.”

A total of 14,374 bins were delivered in 2017 and 14,190 were delivered this year before the bin charge was introduced – compared to 12,057 in 2014.

CEC delivered 12,652 bins in 2015 and 13,409 bins in 2016 – meaning the total for the past five years stood at 66,682 bins as of October 22.

The council now charges £30 for 240-litre wheelie bins, and £25 for smaller 180-litre bins, if residents need their second replacement bin in three years or for new bins at newly-built properties – although bins damaged during collection are still replaced free of charge.

CEC insists that the charge was brought in because the council faced ‘difficult choices’ to protect services in the budget for 2018-19, such as adult social care.

When the charge was confirmed in September, Cllr Glen Williams, deputy cabinet member for environment, said: “The council spent £300,000 on supplying bins and a further £64,000 for the delivery and administration of bins in 2017-18.

 

“With an ongoing reduced budget position and in order to continue to provide this service across the borough, it is necessary to start charging for the service to provide and deliver bins to properties.”

But the charge was introduced following fierce criticism by residents, a scrutiny committee and Labour councillors – who raised concerns about the impact the charge would have on vulnerable residents, and had a request to ‘call in’ the decision for further scrutiny turned down.

At the meeting where CEC’s environment and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee urged the cabinet to rethink its plans for charging in June, Cllr Nick Mannion, Labour, said: “The reality is if it’s a choice between feeding the kids, paying the electricity or buying a new bin because it has disappeared for whatever reason, I know what’s not going to get done.”