A RECENT report in your newspaper stated that Caerphilly County Borough Council will not be collecting garden waste during the winter months. They put forward two reasons; that there is little garden waste during the winter months, and that they are bringing forward a new way of collecting green and food waste and this will be brought into effect in February 2017.

These reasons probably hide a cost saving measure and take little account of garden waste during the winter like leaves.

Further, it has been suggested to me by Caerphilly County Council Waste team that if people want to dispose of garden waste they can ring the council and it will be collected, but it should be bagged. The team do not say how it should be bagged.

Little notice has been given of this new procedure, no letter explaining the new policy has been delivered and it was further suggested by the waste team that people could take garden waste to the council’s waste tip. This is a very cavalier statement and perhaps shows a disregard for those who do not have the means to do so.

I further note that Mr. J. Hemming, MP for Birmingham is having a similar dispute with Birmingham City Council. Let’s face it, this could be a cynical exercise in saving money at the expense of council tax payers.

I hope Caerphilly County Borough Council do not use this as an attempt to charge residents for this service.

The Venerable John Blackburn

Gelli Crescent

Risca