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At a meeting on 25 July Cabinet agreed new measures to further improve the town' waste management and recycling service but only on the understanding that ?Tamworth Borough Council will never weigh bins until instructed to do so by the government.?

The amendment was made to a report being discussed by Cabinet about new policies and procedures for Tamworth' waste management service. As well as approving the updated procedures, cabinet members re-iterated their opposition to using micro chips in bins to weigh household waste.

Councillor John Garner, portfolio holder for environment and community safety, said:

?This should lay to rest any false rumours that we are intending to introduce a so called chip and bin system to Tamworth. Whilst we strongly support the improvements to our waste management service and increasing the amount of recycling in Tamworth we do not support, and never have supported, any scheme that would jeopardise the excellent co-operation we currently receive with recycling from the majority of residents.?

Contained in the revised waste management policies are measures to provide free additional garden waste and recycling boxes to properties that need them, an assisted collection scheme and nappy collection scheme. Also included are details of an on-going programme of education led by recycling wardens for households that produce no recycling or contaminated recycling material.

Councillor Garner continued:

?Many of the policies approved have been in operation for some time as trial measures with very few problems or complaints. All we have done is formalise these activities into a clear policy.

?The changes agreed last week are not just about fines and enforcement as some people would have the public believe. The new policies actually focus on how we can educate residents about the benefits and importance of recycling and provide support to make recycling a straightforward part of everyone' daily lives.?

?There is a simple explanation as to why the policies also include the possibility of enforcement measures being used. We still have a small number of residents that refuse to co-operate with our efforts so we need set out the ways in which we can target this minority if needs be. As the policy states however ?sanctions will only be used where all other approaches have failed.?

?We know that there are some people who do not share our view on how the waste management service is run and that is their prerogative. I would have thought that these people would still be able to recognise the importance of recycling as a way of reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill sites. Perhaps these people would like to put forward some viable alternatives that would enable us to continue meeting our government targets and increase the amount of income generated through recycling. It is important to remember that the income that the council generates from various sources as a result of successful recycling plays an important part in providing additional financial support for play areas, CCTV and schemes like flowers & anti litter campaigns. This is another reason that we are keen to do everything we can to get everyone in our town recycling.?