A service to help people living in Reading get rid of bulky waste, such as fridges, TVs and furniture, has been scrapped after two years of operation.
Reading Borough Council’s free bulky waste collection service was introduced in June 2022 by the Labour administration.
It was designed as a way to clamp down on fly tipping by picking up heavy items from the doorsteps, and getting rid of unwanted and broken goods for free using an online booking system.
However, the free service is due to end after two years of operation due to the escalating cost of providing services.
The end of the service was discussed at a policy committee meeting.
Introducing the news, a council finance officer said that in quarter one of the 2024/25 financial year, the council faced £13 million in budget pressures.
Although he said that has been offset by £8 million of ‘in-year mitigations’, the council has still been left with a £5 million deficit.
To reduce costs and raise income, the administration has cut free bulky waste collections, introduced new fees and charges, and will no longer notify people of planning applications by post, but through site notices only.
The officer said the measures will save £218,000 annually, and £673,000 over a four year period, with bulky waste collection subject to a ‘revised service offer’.
During discussion, councillor Anne Thompson (Liberal Democrats, Tilehurst) asked what the revised service would entail, and whether any reduction in flytipping had been observed.
Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey), lead councillor for environmental services answered: “We have not been substantially able to see a reduction in fly tipping as we would have wished.
“The parties that were able to access the programme were not necessarily in those higher fly tipping areas and hotspots.”
She added that the council’s street cleaning team is committed to tackling fly tipping, and that a recent trial removed nine tonnes of bulky waste from a neighbourhood.
Cllr Rowland said: “When we are able to target neighbourhoods and dynamics where we have disabilities and digital exclusion, and areas of deprivation, where there are fly tipping hotspots, that is the route we will go down, but that is a work in progress.”
Cllr Rob White (Green, Park), voiced opposition to all three of the budgetary measures Labour had proposed.
Ultimately the measures were approved, meaning the free bulky waste collection service will end on Friday, November 1.
Cllr White, the leader of the Green opposition on the council, was unable to vote against the changes as he attended the committee meeting virtually.
Only cllr Raj Singh (Conservative, Kentwood) voted against the measures contained in the council’s financial recovery plan at the meeting on Monday, October 21.
Giving comment following the decision, cllr White said: “Many parts of the town are already plagued with fly-tipping. Green councillors have been lobbying for this service to be improved and expanded. But instead Labour have cut this service.
“Green councillors oppose this service being cut by the ruling Labour administration.
“With a so-called party of the left now in power nationally, you might have thought that there would be more funding for local authorities to improve local areas but it just seems like more of the same. Greens will keep working to tidy up Reading.”
