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‘Bin this £20-a-month recycling charge’
NEW homeowners are incensed by the seemingly arbitrary way some have to pay for recycling bins but others do not.
Residents in the new N7 Vizon project in Eden Grove complain that they have to pay up to £300 for a recycling bin, which works out at about £20 a month per flat.
Many who bought their homes for between £250,000 and £300,000 are already paying £130-£150 a month in council tax.
Annabelle Jones, a travel agent who lives in Buckler Court, said: “There’s a principle that you shouldn’t have to pay for recycling. It should be included in the already-hefty council tax. “It appears to be totally arbitrary. I’ve got a colleague who lives nearby in Tollington Way, where even his potato peelings are taken away for free.”
The recycling charge is “pure greed”, according to Holloway Labour councillor Paul Smith.
Cllr Smith, who lives in a new development at Mount Carmel Court, said: “At my complex we had to fight for recycling facilities. We have now got them but we don’t pay for them. It’s the kind of service you would expect to get free. “There is no argument to justify some paying for recycling while others don’t. It’s penny-pinching. Our view is that all recycling should be free.”
Councillor Lucy Watt, Lib Dem executive member for environment, said: “We want to encourage everyone in Islington to recycle and it’s important we provide our service in a consistent manner. “This anomaly will be put right. We are taking steps to ensure all our recycling is free for everyone, regardless of where they live. “This is why we are spending an extra £800,000 this year.”
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