Green light given to empty bins every 2 weeks

A weekly visit from the binmen is increasingly under threat as councils come under mounting pressure to switch to fortnightly refuse collections - reports the Daily Telegraph.

So far, about one third of the 300 waste authorities in England, covering about 10 million households, are experimenting with reduced collections.

The issue has triggered controversy, with councils being accused of cutting services under cover of going 'green', while also hitting people with above-inflation council tax rises which are supposed to pay for the service.

Eric Pickles, the Tory local government spokesman, pointed out that: "Refuse collection for some people without children is the single biggest thing they actually get for their council tax."

The move is suspected to be a first steps towards a new "rubbish tax", charging householders for what they put out for collection.

If the government is so short of money that it has to pressure councils to cut back on essential services, for which householders already pay an ever-increasing council tax bill, then it's time to consider where public money is being wasted.

For example, are MPs really going to vote to approve rewarding the chronically wasteful EU with the massive 60% increase in payments that Tony Blair promised - while Britain's rubbish starts piling up, or a new 'rubbish tax' is imposed?

If the EU is responsible for lumping extra costs on councils for sending waste to landfill, then it's only fair the money to pay those extra costs comes from cutting the extra billions Blair has already pledged to hand over to the EU's budget.

The EU can't have it both ways. Though it may come as a shock to EU law-makers, given the lavish surroundings they enjoy in Brussels at our expense, public money isn't unlimited.

So are MPs prepared to block the extra Blair promised the EU, to keep essential services up to standard? Sadly it seems many actually intend to not only throw billions away on payments to the audit-failing EU budget, but ALSO expect local voters to put up with reduced services or higher taxes.

Those MPs in marginal seats supporting such a plan can only have given up hope of being re-elected already.