Green Waste Charge, better a carrot and stick

Reading Council have a strange new policy, charging residents more for being Green, even though they were saving the council money.

Those who want to dispose of garden waste but who have more than they can compost paid to have a green bin. While other residents who didn't bother simply threw it into the normal bin to be sent to landfill, which costs the council.

Now those Green minded residents will be charged £22.50 for the first green bin, plus £12.50 for each additional bin. Or £7.50 for the first green bag, plus £5.00 for each additional bag.

Those people being green and saving the council money should be rewarded not penalised. I would suggest they give the green bins away for free, and pick them up for free. Residents who throw away too much can be charged a small amount to pay for this.

I prefer a carrot and stick approach, reward good behavior and penalise the bad. I imagine this sort of approach will get some to call me authoritarian, hey ho. It will encourage people to do the right thing.

This odd policy has done one good thing so far, a Labour Cllr has started composting.

What happens to the green waste is another storey. Some residents would assume it goes to alotments, but when I helped run thre Oxford Road community garden I was told we couldn't have any.