SEE LINK FOR DETAILS:- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKSWDEVON/bulletins/356b9c8
Posts tagged rubbish
BIGBURY PARISH SKIP – Saturday 14th Jan 2023
West Country Skip Hire has confirmed that the parish skip for disposal of refuse by BIGBURY PARISHIONERS ONLY will be delivered to the Memorial Hall car park at c8:30 on Saturday morning, 14th Jan., 2023. and removed at the end of the afternoon.
As in previous years, car tyres, builders rubble, TV sets and fridges cannot be accepted.
Garden waste collections ending this month
see link for details:- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKSWDEVON/bulletins/331143b
Garden waste collection subscription service will go ahead in South Hams
South Hams District Council has agreed that residents wanting to have garden waste collections should be charged for the service from spring 2023, with the current service to end on 31 October 2022.
Against the backdrop of rising costs, the Full Council came to the decision today (22 September) to cease the existing service and launch a paid subscription service next spring. The vote was 22 in favour, seven against.
The Council has been looking at every option to ensure that the core waste and recycling collection service can remain as smooth as possible when it comes back in-house on 3 October.
The Council will inherit increased operating costs and must contend with inflation in the price of fuel and wages, as well the need for additional resources. Introducing a charge for the garden waste collections – a discretionary service, not a statutory one – will ease the overall cost pressures on the Council.
As well as easing financial pressures, ceasing the service from 31 October will also ease pressure on the core waste and recycling collections, helping to keep those as stable as possible in the early months of the transition. The Council will ensure that all households will get their brown bins emptied on or around their last scheduled collection day before the service is ceased.
For many years the Council had been able to provide the garden waste service without charging a subscription fee but doing so from spring 2023 will bring them in line with most other districts in Devon, who already charge for garden waste collections. Plymouth City Council recently took the decision to end their garden waste collections early this year to ease their own budget pressures.
Cllr Keith Baldry, South Hams Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Since the proposal about halting the current garden waste service and replacing it with a subscription service in the spring first came to the table, it has been one carefully considered, deliberated, and debated. We know that nobody will want to pay a subscription fee for the service, but the inescapable truth is that rising costs have forced our hand.
“Ultimately, we must protect our core statutory services. Ceasing the collections over the winter will help us do that as we transition to an in-house waste collection service.
“Compared to what private companies charge for collections, that fee represents good value for money. The subscription fees will purely cover the cost of the service and there will be no profit made. We will provide residents with information in due course on how they can sign up and subscribe for the service.”
Residents can also expect to receive a letter explaining the changes in the coming days.
During the debate, residents were encouraged to compost their garden waste. People can find out more on home composting possibilities here: https://www.recycledevon.org/in-the-garden/how-to-compost
For those who decide to not sign up for the service, they can take their garden waste to all three recycling centres in the South Hams. Full details, including opening hours, are available online here: https://www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/centre/
Keep up to date on the latest here: https://southhams.gov.uk/recyclingwaste
ENDS
Changes to recycling dates in January 2022
See link for details:- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKSWDEVON/bulletins/305b0be
SOUTH HAMS’ REFUSE COLLECTION DATES OVER CHRISTMAS
OPEN LINK FOR DETAILS:- SH Christmas collection dates Advert_2021_square
Councillor Apologises and Pays for Waste Collection
Issued: 11 November 2021
A South Hams District Executive Councillor has publically apologised for an error of judgement when trying to act in the best interests of her residents and has agreed to pay £3,105 for the waste collection out of her own pocket.
When South Hams District Council suspended the collection of Garden Waste, Cllr Hopwood, Ward Member for Woolwell, wanted to arrange a one-off collection for her residents. She asked officers if this would be possible, but misunderstood the advice she was given.
Cllr Hopwood then arranged for a private contractor to make a one-off collection of garden waste within her Ward, funded by her Localities’ fund.
This arrangement was actually in breach of the Council’s requirements of her Localities’ funds. Upon realising she had acted in error, Cllr Hopwood offered an unreserved apology to residents, Members and officers.
At the beginning of the meeting Cllr Hopwood gave a full and unreserved apology: she said: “Members and officers may be aware that I organised a collection of brown bins within the Woolwell Ward which I represent.
“I sought officer advice about paying for this to be done out of my Locality budget after misunderstanding the advice given and went ahead with what I had organised in all good faith.
“I have since been contacted by the Monitoring Officer and subsequently met with him. He advised that not only was the organising of waste collections within my Ward against what the Executive had agreed, which was to suspend the garden waste service, but I informed residents that this would be paid for out of my Locality Budget as I genuinely misunderstood the advice given by officers.
“I offer an unreserved apology to both officers and Members and have assured the monitoring officer that this will not happen again.”
After the meeting, Cllr Hopwood added: “Today I felt backed into a corner and my only option was to either resign from the Council or pay the bill for the garden waste collection. I have been a Ward member for Woolwell for 20 years, I am passionate about my Ward, and the South Hams, and the last thing I want to do is to let my residents down. My residents are my priority and therefore resigning is not an option for me, so I will pay the bill.”
The Council’s Monitoring Officer accepted the public apology. He was satisfied after speaking with Cllr Hopwood that the councillor was aware of her wrongdoing and this would not be repeated. Cllr Hopwood subsequently agreed that she would pay the contractor’s invoice personally.
Although this was an error of judgement by Cllr Hopwood, South Hams says that the collection in Woolwell has also demonstrated to them, why employing small private companies to collect garden waste from the whole district is not an option.
The one-off collection organised by Cllr Hopwood was for 1,300 properties, in a Ward that is suburban and not typical of the South Hams, houses are closer to together over a smaller geographic area.
The South Hams garden waste service is provided to 43,350 households in the District at no additional charge to residents.
In September, an operational decision was taken to suspend the collection of garden waste collections so that other statutory services, such as recycling and general household waste could be prioritised.
A number of factors contributed to this decision, including staff sickness, the direct impact from the round review undertaken in October 2020, as well as the highly publicised national HGV shortage.
In October, the Executive made the regrettable decision that this suspension should remain in place until Spring 2022.
South Hams District Council officers continue to look at options for improving the service they are offering and are constantly taking on board ideas being put forward by other councillors.
For information about the suspension of the garden waste collection, please visit: www.southhams.gov.uk/waste-service-updates
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Sustainable Community Locality Fund:
Each Ward Councillor within the South Hams has been allocated £2,000 in the current financial year to support community projects that benefit their Ward or the wider local community. This Fund can support any project or activity which in the view of the Ward Councillor will improve the community and enhance the quality of life for local residents. Existing projects can be supported, but this Fund cannot be used to replace any withdrawn public sector funding (withdrawn within the previous two financial years) or provide or imply any ongoing financial support or support projects promoting religious beliefs.
Applications for funding can only benefit not-for-profit groups or organisations and not individuals.
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