Lou, The material that you put into green waste should not smell as it decomposes and certainly does not attract rats that are only attracted by food waste. Whether you use a black bag as I proposed (with my tongue in my cheek) or a small composter, neither takes up very much space.

   Mist Walker:

Sorry I forgot to address your other point.

It is true to say that prior to five years ago, the council did not collect green waste however, I think it would be more accurate to say that prior to five years ago, WBC did not collect green waste as a separate item. I am sure many residents put their green waste in ordinary black bin bags.

In a similar vane to the answer I gave Larry S who made a similar point, if we go back far enough, then there would have been no services at all provided by the local authority to anybody. If we take your point to its logical conclusion; because there was no street lighting one hundred years ago, should we stop providing it or charge extra for it and treat it as an additional service. The same could apply to home care for the old and disabled, perhaps libraries, car parking, bus passes etc. It is after all, only a recent thing that the state wanted to manage everyone's lives and interfere in more and more areas as councils decided to justify their position and empire build.

The main reason councils adopted the separate green waste collection five years ago, is because our politicians allowed an unelected, unaccountable foreign power, in the guise of the EUSSR, to fine us for dumping our own waste in our own land. It also allowed councils to fiddle the figures about recycling levels; in general terms, garden waste is heavy and because it is counted as recycling, it boosted the total tonnage of recycling.

   I see that both Larry S and Mistwalker try to fudge the issue.

Firstly, I do compost at home; always have and always will. I have two hundred feet of garden mostly lawns and surrounded by hedges. The ONLY thing I used to send in the green waste was grass clipping; you cannot compost large amounts of grass clippings with out it turning to mush.

Secondly, the ONLY questions that requires answering is this series:-

If I put my green waste out last year, did the council take it away for no extra charge....Answer, Yes.

If I put my green waste out this year, will they take that away.....Answe, No.

If I received a service last year included in my rip off tax, but this year I have to pay extra; does this amount to an extra tax, especially given that it was stated that there would be no rise.....Answer must be , Yes.

Do all people use all services.....Answer, No So why should you both feel that some people were being subsidised because some took advantage of last year's green waste service? Perhaps the money that I didn't consume by not using the borough's schools could have been used to fund collection of my grass clippings.

I am of a generation that produces little waste; growing up when I did, we had to all too often make do and mend including clothing, domestic appliances, cars, unconsumed food etc. I made use of cuttings and trimings in my garden and produced my own compost and still do. I always buy fresh unpackaged food and cook from scratch. My forty bags could likely last me two years if it wasn't for the smell from the waste and the life cycle of flies, which was the reason why bin collections were always, since Victorian times, weekly. Making bin collections weekly, was the one step other than covered sewers, that improved public health and the enviroment.

Whether people should or should not home compost is up to them, I choose too, others don't.......It is not up to you to dictate to others and to impose your own predjucies and ideologies onto others......There does seem to be a need by humankind to boss and control others.

I recycle and compost and buy goods with little or no packaging, not because I am an apostle of the new false religion of climate change nor a green loon but because it makes sense to me to do so......I would not try to force my enviromental beliefs onto others and neither should you.

The fact of the matter is that this waste policy has been a right poll tax; WBC failed to listen to those that elected them and have tried to spin, lie and blame everyone but themselves for it. We need honesty, integrity and a sense of morality from our political leaders at all levels from local, through Westminster and that waste of time in Brussels. Until the state treats us like adults and are honest with us, crazy schemes like this wate scheme will just wind people up and politicians will continue to be challenged. My fear is that unless politicians and their little helps do start to listen to the people, the people will start to elect extremists, from both the left and the right of politics, because they'll be able to build their support on the frustrations so many people feel against our mainstream politicians.

   Like LarryS said; If you have a garden you should be home composting, if you don't then you don't need the service. if you only have a few house plants then can buy a small composter with tap on it to use on your plants when it breaks down.

If this was to be free and funded via council tax then that would take resources from other front line services.

Tonk: Green waste was never collected prior to around 5 years ago. what did people do with there green waste then?! Its not included in council tax and is an opt in service.

   I now go back to what I was doing before the council collected garden waste and take it to the tip, thus polluting the environment more than I need to do, but it is cheaper than paying £60 per year.

Fedupoctogenarian

   Larry S.

Many years ago when I did drive, there were few street lamps. When I was at school, there was no such thing as council tax. The point I'm making is that no one uses every service all of the time. Although I do not use the schools, I do not object to paying for them. Although I am housebound, I do not object to paying for roads, street lamps nor foot paths. With schools, footpaths and roads I do not have a choice but, at the moment, regarding green waste I can chose whether or not to pay the charge and, my choice is to not; last year it was included in the rip off tax, just like the other things you mention, this year it is an extra charge dispite the claim that there is no rise in the level of rip off taxtherefore, in order to receive THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE AS LAST YEAR, I would need to pay more and I chose not to. People that wish to ask a council planing officer for advice this year have to pay a fee, last year there was no charge.

Modern politics is about deceit, immorality, sleight of hand and semantics, it no longer has anything to do with public service and is all to do with making money and managing the population. I for one want no part of it.

   So,Tonk - you never went to school and you've never used a road or footpath after dark. Interesting!

   Larry S:

Following your logic to its ultimate conclusion; why should we have any council services at all then.....After all, not everyone uses every single service all the time.

The green waste collection has never been free; it was always included in the rip off tax, (council tax) Just like schools, which I don't use and street lighting, which I don't want/use.

Perhaps the answer is a kind of pay as you go service......Everyone pays a standard rate which entitles them to a few basic services and then pay for any extras that they may want.....Ohh 'ang on, we've already got that in Wokingham:-)

   Why should it be free? Why should those folk who have no gardens and produce no green waste subsidise those who do?

   Yes, you could PoneRana if you are fortunate enough to have a garden. But if you live in flats with a cordoned off concrete balcony type arrangement like some do, the council would fine you for attracting rats & causing a smell etc. Most poor people don't have space to section off a part of their small garden especially for composting. Though many do like to grow plants in pots etc because it has been shown that it can help their mental health or well being.There are still big homes with large gardens still left in Wokingham, but the majority of homes here are people crammed into small homes/flats with either no garden, small/very small garden or a communal garden. Where through no fault of the home owners it would be unacceptable to compost. I'm sure many of these people would love to have a garden with space to compost, but they don't. The council should not penalise these people further for being poor! I'm fortunate enough to still be able to carry on as before stuffing black bags into communal grundons, but I suspect this will change when I have to move. I feel very sorry for people who are feeling forced to comply with the councils totally unreasonable demands.

   Where's the option for 'It should be absorbed into the council tax charge'?

   You could of course put it in a black bag and wait for it to turn into compost.

   It's ridiculous to charge for green waste collection, as the council then composts it & charges us to buy it back. They are in effect getting compost for free & making you pay for their privilege! They should collect it for free & only get to charge the collection/delivery fee when selling it back. If they are not prepared to do it for free then they should expect people to carry on putting it in their black bin bag or communal grundon. Who ever would agree to pay for it to be collected has more money than sense!