No-win situation for residents over green bin charges

If they refuse to pay the charge, they are left with two alternatives.

They can take their waste to a household recycling centre and spend much more than £25 a year on fuel.

Or they can take their waste out into the countryside and run the risk of being spotted flytipping, thus incurring a fine far in excess of £25.

If one stops for a moment and thinks about it, the £25 charge works out at 48p a week.

Pendle Council is also one of the last authorities in the area to introduce such a charge – Craven Council, for instance, has had one for several years.

And when you consider the 48p a week, there is not much around these days you could buy in the weekly supermarket shop for that.

So Mr Pendle, who shares a bin with his neighbour and who has it emptied perhaps 10 times a year, will – albeit reluctantly – pay the charge.

He does not want to drive to Barnoldswick, soiling his car with black bags filled with garden detritus and landing himself with the additional task of cleaning it afterwards.

Nor does he want to despoil the countryside with his rubbish.

As he says, he and all other Pendle people with gardens are in a no-win situation – but it is a small price to pay to have the peace of mind that he has one less job to do.