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Liverpool Council has sought answers from Royal Mail over undelivered stickers for its controversial new green bin charge.
After receiving complaints from residents across the city who had not received the sticker that would identify they had paid the £40 annual fee, the local authority has confirmed it is raising an issue with the postal service over undelivered documentation. Earlier this month, Cllr Abdul Qadir, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, asked residents to bear with the local authority as it encounters “implementation issues”.
Applicants for the new scheme, which began on April 18, hit out at the council on Twitter, questioning why they had not received their stickers to designate to collection officers they were eligible for the service. Cllr Carole Storey, Liberal Democrat member for Childwall ward, told the LDRS previously that she had been inundated by complaints from residents over the scheme.
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She added it was a proposal the party would seek to reverse in next year’s budget. Responding to complainants on social media, Liverpool Council said: “We’re aware some stickers have not arrived & we’re raising this with the Royal Mail.
“In the meantime can you give us your house number and will pass on to the team.” The authority also said residents should continue to put their green bins out for collection as officers will be aware of eligible households.
For anyone who has paid but their sticker has gone missing in the post, a new sticker will be issued, free of charge. Liverpool Council hopes the new scheme will generate £1.7m as it tackles a £24m budgeting black hole.
The local authority has claimed projections for residents opting into the service are positive. This is despite being unable to provide figures for the number of households choosing to pay the £40 annual charge.
For the scheme to break even, a 33% take-up is required, the equivalent of 49,000 homes across the city. In establishing the fee, Liverpool has become the fourth of the six Liverpool City Region local authorities to ask residents to stump up for collections.
St Helens, Wirral and Halton already charge a fee while Knowsley and Sefton still provide the service for free. The fee was brought in as part of Liverpool Council’s 2022/23 budget proposals, which were passed last month.
