Local Lib Dems are calling on the Conservative Council to begin a weekly collection of kitchen waste from April 2010. The Conservatives have repeatedly postponed the collection of kitchen waste from 2008 to the current implementation date of Autumn 2011.

Kitchen waste is soon to be collected weekly at kerbside across the old Avon area, except in B&NES. North Somerset Council has just decided to appoint May Gurney, the company that does B&NES’ recycling, to collect kitchen waste at kerbside.

Bath and North East Somerset is now the only old Avon authority not to collect kitchen waste. The Conservative administration here has deferred the start of kerbside collections from 2008 – the date originally planned by the Liberal Democrats – to Autumn 2011.

The budget for 2010/2011 has not yet been set, so there is still time to implement the collection of kitchen waste from April this year.

We used to be a leader nationally when it came to recycling, but even from a high base in 2004, it has lost ground over recent years to many other Councils through delaying the collection of kitchen waste.

This Conservative administration has had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards collecting kitchen waste and even then it will be a full three years later than was planned by the last administration.

Collecting kitchen waste is not only good for the environment, but it is cheaper than sending it to landfill, so in a Council which is making drastic cuts in its staff, surely there is a duty to make savings where it can.