Shepway recycling fiasco hits 40,000 households

1.12.37pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 11th Oct 2005

Shepway Liberal Democrat Peter Carroll has slammed Conservative Shepway District Council for the disastrous state of the recycling initiative in the area. The council has just announced that the fleet of special recycling vehicles has had to be withdrawn from service for urgent safety checks.

The fleet withdrawal comes after months of chaos across Shepway during which the council were inundated with many thousands of phone-calls complaining of a multitude of problems, missed collections, collections on the wrong days, and failure to help vulnerable people, who were promised assistance and have been severely let down by this Conservative run council.

Peter Carroll said:

"This fiasco affects every home in Shepway, that's 40,000 households. Never before has a council let so many people down, so badly, all at the same time."

Cllr Lynne Beaumont, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems on Shepway District Council said:

"No matter how many times Cllr Robert Bliss, the leader of the Conservative led council apologises for this shambolic service, they have turned the great idea of recycling into a complete fiasco. Apology no longer accepted Cllr Bliss!

"The people of Shepway have shown their eagerness to recycle, now, it is time for the conservative led council to stand up, and admit that this farcical service is letting people down, and that they have run out of excuses."