PLANS to bring back weekly wheelie bin collections have been thrown out by Ryedale councillors after they were told it could cost council tax payers up to £450,000.
Cllr Paul Andrews had gathered a 500-signature petition demanding that the green general refuse bins should be restarted on a weekly basis or at least in the school summer holidays to avoid public health risks.
The petition followed a decision to
introduce a pilot scheme to cut down on the number of garden waste bins collected during the winter months to once every four weeks instead of fortnightly between December and February.
The move was made to reduce mileage, cut CO2 emissions and save up to nearly £16,000 in the short-term and further efficiency savings in future years of around £8,000.
But Cllr Andrews argued at the community services committee that it was wrong to take decisions which could affect public health.
He said restoring extra collections in the summer holidays while schools were out would avoid the risk of smell and attracting vermin.
But Phil Hancock, the authority's head of environmental services, said restoring the weekly general refuse collections would cost between £400,000 and £450,000.
Even a weekly collection in the summer holidays would amount to between £80,000 and £100,000.
More vehicles would have to be hired and there would also be extra staff and fuel costs, while CO2 levels would go up.
Cllr Howard Keal believed residents had adapted to the fortnightly system and he feared changes could have "a catastrophic" effect on recycling which would hit the council financially because of the increased cost of landfill.
He said: "People signed the petition with the best of intentions but without knowledge of the financial figures."
