Wolverhampton weekly bin collections to stay... for now
Plans to introduce fortnightly bin collections have been put on hold due to a legal dispute between Wolverhampton council and its waste contractor.
The council is in a 'significant contractual dispute' with contractor Amey over cost-cutting changes to its waste collection.
The move would have seen bi-weekly waste collections introduced, along with charges for garden green waste and the scrapping of slop buckets.
It proved unpopular with Express & Star readers with 84 per cent of the more than 2,400 people who voted in a poll opposing the idea.
But it was given the approval by the council in March in a bid to save £2.4 million a year as part of wider plans to make £54.6m of savings by 2019-20.
Last night, Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for the environment, said negotiations with the contractor Amey had so far 'identified no way forward'.
But he added it remained the council's intention to implement the changes.
He said: “We have a contract with Amey to deliver waste and recycling services in the City of Wolverhampton. Therefore, any proposed changes to that contract are subject to successful negotiations between us and the company.
“Unfortunately, those negotiations have so far not identified a viable way forward and we are in a significant contractual dispute with Amey.
“It remains the intention of the council to implement the changes to our waste and recycling service as soon as a way forward is agreed and we will keep residents informed.”
Under its contract with Wolverhampton council, Amey serves 105,000 households across the city, making 2.14 million collections each month.
Alistair Duncan, spokesman for Amey, said: "We can confirm that Amey have been requested by City of Wolverhampton Council to provide alternative proposals for the waste and recycling service that we have delivered in the city since 2006.
"We are having ongoing discussions with the council about this issue. It is therefore inappropriate to comment at this stage. We will, however, continue to provide a high quality service for the council and its residents while we work out a solution."
Under the proposal for changes to the waste management, slop buckets which take food waste would be scrapped.
A charge of £35 a year would also be levied on residents taking up a new 42-week garden waste collection service.
