BRINGING back weekly household waste collections would cost the borough nearly £5m a year, Bolton’s environmental services chief has warned.

Cllr Nick Peel has urged Conservative group leaders against ‘backtrack’ on their support for the council’s waste disposal regime.

His comments after Cllr John Walsh put forward a policy of reinstating weekly collections of the grey bin to town hall chiefs.

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Cllr Richard Silvester, Labour councillor for Bolton North East, invited Cllr Peel to spell out the ‘financial cost and likely consequences’ of adopting the policy at the latest full meeting of Bolton Council.

And the Labour chief was scathing about the Tories proposal of reverting to weekly collections, accusing the party of “back-of-a-fag-packet, make it up as you go along politics”, which was had not accounted for within the group’s shadow budget.”

Cllr Peel said if the council were to reverse its policy on recycling then there would be a “huge reduction” in materials placed in the paper, plastic and garden/food waste bins – and an increase of waste placed into the grey bins.

And he warned that such a move would result in a drop in the recycling rate of about 8 per cent – from a current average level of 47 per cent – and rising - since the fortnightly ‘slim bin’ was introduced.

Outlining the impact on council coffers, he said that the cost of introducing a weekly slim bin collection would be £4.8m per year –960,000 for additional waste collection costs and more than £3.8m for waste disposal.

He continued: “When we first introduced the changes the opposition, Tories and UKIP, said that Bolton people were not capable of embracing this change. They said that Bolton people were somehow different to the rest of the country and wouldn’t understand it.

“They patronised Bolton people and Bolton people have proved them wrong.

“Cultural change is hard won, but we are winning this fight slowly but surely. The total bin capacity for all rubbish that is thrown out is higher than is was 10 years ago. We simply ask people to make that cultural change by separating their rubbish into relevant bins.”

And he expressed his disappointed that the Conservatives appeared to be suggesting a change of strategy over recycling, after previously appearing to back it.

“I say well done to people such as Bob Allen and Stuart Haslam who were not afraid to hold their hands up and say ‘well done Bolton Council , it was a tough decision, but you’ve made it work.”

He added that a Tory-run council would land the authority with a “totally unnecessary £5m of expenditure in order to win a handful of votes”.

“5 per cent on council tax or an additional £5m of cuts to children’s and adults’ services. That’s the choice the Tory council would have to make to fund this backward step. The leadership of that group should be ashamed of themselves.”

However Conservative group leader David Greenhalgh hit back saying there was ‘no shame’ on his side of the council chamber.

He added that, contrary to Cllr Peel’s claim Tory councillors had been taken unaware by Cllr John Walsh’s proposals, there was ‘no surprise’ on the opposition benches.

He said: “I wrote the leaflet and I stand by it.”

Speaking after the meeting Cllr Greenhalgh told The Bolton News: "It has always been a principle that the Conservative Group has stood by, and has promoted in our literature, that a weekly collection of a grey bin is one of those basic front line services that residents of this town have a right to expect in return for the council tax they pay."

"We believe it is no coincidence that the amount of fly tipping, litter, vermin and associated health risk has increased since the introduction of a fortnightly collection; and, if elected as the ruling group, we believe a change in policy is required while at the same time promoting, enhancing and even, where possible, rewarding recycling initiatives."

"There are alternatives out there, but the status quo is not working. Bolton is a dirty town that has come to depend on an army of dedicated volunteers to alleviate its growing litter problem."

"It is not irresponsible of us not to address this in our budget. This would be a strategic change in policy that would need detailed consultation and a great deal of planning, as the move to fortnightly collection did.

"All avenues would need to be examined to minimise cost implications, to provide the best deal for the Bolton tax payer, while giving back to residents a basic service that should never have been withdrawn."