Councillor Tanner (letter, October 6) correctly states that the estimated £750,000 being offered to Oxford City Council by the Coalition Government won’t be sufficient to bring back weekly bin collections.
However, it will be ample to reverse one of Tanner’s more foolish ideas – the council’s recycling tax on green waste collections.
This disproportionately affects poorer and smaller households and deters recycling. It is therefore not surprising that recycling levels in Oxford have stagnated.
Reversing Labour’s Recycling Tax will cost £250,000. The remainder of the money could be put to good use elsewhere. £500,000 a year is sufficient to save Temple Cowley Pool and reinstate the popular area committees, which gave people the opportunity to influence local policies and spending decisions. There would be enough left over to reinstate a handful of the 100-plus front-line service jobs that the council cut last year.
All round, a much better use for the money.
CRAIG SIMMONS, Vice-chair, Oxford Green Party, Magdalen Road, Oxford
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