A former Cornwall Council Cabinet member who had led early discussions about the authority’s new waste collection has slammed moves to alter the service and remove recycling banks.

Sue James, who was the Cabinet member responsible for waste before being replaced by Rob Nolan earlier this year, strongly criticised the council at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Last week it was revealed that the council was having to rethink its plans for a weekly recycling collection service and fortnightly black bag collection as no operator had been able to provide a bid within the council’s budget.

So now the council is looking to have a fortnightly kerbside collection service for both recycling and black bag waste and introduce a new weekly food waste collection. The new service is not set to start until summer 2021.

In addition the council has decided to bring forward plans to remove recycling banks so that they will start to be taken away when the contract begins next year.

Cllr James, who represents St Just in Penwith, said that she had been contacted by a number of residents and the town council after details of the new contract were made public.

Talking about the removal of recycling banks, she said: “There was concern about this anyway and I have been reassuring them that with recycling being weekly they will be able to manage.

“We have families where they don’t have much of a back garden let alone a shed or garage. We have people in flats, they have nowhere to store a box and three bags for a fortnight, that is the reality.”

She said that at present people are able to deposit recycling at the banks so that they do not have problems with storing the waste for the kerbside collection.

Cllr James said that she had no doubt that they were misused by businesses but she highlighted that they are also important for residents.

She said that for people who live near supermarkets which have recycling banks in their car parks it would not be an issue but in her area many people don’t live close to a supermarket.

And she warned: “I tell you what they will do they will put all the recycling in the wheelie bins and it will go to the incinerator. I believe this is a retrograde step.”

Cllr James criticised the council for taking the decision to remove the banks “with not evidence or any public consultation”.

Cllr Nolan explained that the recycling banks would be removed in phases with the first being in Truro as the city has two supermarkets with recycling banks and the recently opened Household Waste Recycling Centre.

He added: “Recycling will go to fortnightly. I don’t know how people will have to store any more than they do at the moment. They seem to do it without any problem.”

The Cabinet member said that removing the banks would save the council  £470,000 and said that just four per cent of all recycling was collected from the banks.

Cabinet agreed the recommendation that the update on the waste contract was noted.

It also agreed to increase garden waste collection charges for 2020/21, which will mean that the cost of a subscription for a 240-litre bin will go up from £38.74 to £43. The council said that this was in line with other south west councils.

A further report on the waste contract is expected to be presented to the Cabinet in January.