Wolverhampton City Council wasting money on garbage

Wolverhampton City Council, the authority that made the prediction of a financial doomsday, is using £26,000 it got from the same Government that has stripped it of much of the money for its running costs.

The money is ringfenced by the Government for recycling, so the council cannot put it towards any other service.

That means five people will go around the Whitmore Reans area for three months explaining which bins residents should use.

• £26k 'bin buddies' to join Wolverhampton council staff

The city council claims that 500 people are incorrectly contaminating their bins every time they are emptied in Whitmore Reans.

Perhaps Wolverhampton City Council should first reflect on all the changes it has made in recent years.

These have included making people stop using their old black wheelie bin for waste and put it in a smaller, brown one, using the old one for recycling instead.

And there was the introduction of the slop buckets the council wanted everyone to scrape their leftover food into.

Those buckets came with rolls of biodegradable bags, provided by the council. Then it stopped providing them.

Are the 'bin buddies' a waste of money? Vote in our poll below:

Then there are the conflicting messages the council sends out. Paper is to be recycled. But not Christmas wrapping paper. If anyone dared put that in the black bin, it would get left behind for another fortnight.

No wonder the council thinks people need a buddy to help them put their rubbish in the bin.

But is it really a priority for the Government in the current climate?

Due to funding cuts, Whitmore Reans faces having its library opening hours reduced from six days a week to a mere 15 hours.

Imagine what £26,000 could do to keep it available more regularly and improve the literacy of children or offer adults in terms of a quality of life.

Certainly more than a plastic bottle in a wheelie bin.