Shropshire Council has ‘ignored’ public concerns about the scrapping of kerbside cardboard collections, it was claimed today.

At a full council meeting at Shirehall in Shrewsbury yesterday, cabinet members ruled not to overturn a decision to scrap kerbside cardboard collections by 44 votes to 19.

The move came despite a petition signed by more than 1,300 residents asking for cardboard collections to be reinstated.

Before yesterday’s vote took place, petition organiser Patrick Cosgrove told councillors the decision was bad for the environment.

Mr Cosgrove said: “This is utterly stupid, not cost-effective and very bad environmentally.”

Today Heather Kidd, Shropshire Councillor for Worthen and Chirbury, said the council had paid no respect to public views in voting against the decision to reinstate cardboard collections.

Mrs Kidd said: “The public have been absolutely ignored.

“Mr Cosgrove was so coherent and he put forward a really valid case about the tax to the environment and they just threw it out.

“When more than 1,000 people bother to sign a petition you can’t just say we are going to go through with it.

“You have to take their views seriously.

“It was disrespectful to the public.”

Nigel Hartin, leader of the Lib Dem group, added: “The council have had months to find a way forward and we face Christmas with loads of cardboard which will go to landfill.”

At yesterday’s meeting Councillor Mike Owen said although the council would have liked to carry on with the service national guidelines on standards of garden compost waste meant it could not.

Cardboard was previously put into residents’ green collection bins with garden waste.

Council leader Keith Barrow said the matter had been taken out of the council’s hands because of the European legislation.

Under council rules, a debate on any issue that is contained in a petition to the authority is automatically triggered after 1,000 signatures are collected.

The e-petition started by Mr Cosgrove attracted more than 1,350 signatures forcing a council debate on the subject.

More than 130,000 homes in the county are now banned from putting cardboard in garden waste bins following a decision by waste firm Veolia, which is responsible for disposing of rubbish for Shropshire Council.

See also:

• Return of Shropshire cardboard collection ruled out
• Cardboard recycling debate forced as 1,350 sign e-petition
• Talks ongoing over Shropshire cardboard recycling
• New recycling banks for cardboard waste