Cardboard recycling debate forced as 1,350 sign e-petition

Councillors are being forced to debate a controversial decision to end kerbside cardboard recycling collections in Shropshire after more than 1,000 people signed an e-petition calling for the issue to be revisited.

A petition that was started by county campaigner Patrick Cosgrove and signed by more than 1,350 people will be discussed at a Shropshire Council meeting at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury on Thursday.

Mr Cosgrove will be given five minutes to outline his case – which calls for an alternative system of collecting waste cardboard from county homes to be introduced – before members debate it for 15 minutes.

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

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.

A statement on the council's website says: "This petition has now received over 1,000 signatures, therefore under the council's petitions scheme, it is being referred to the council for debate.

"This debate will take place at the council meeting on Thursday, at 10am at the Shirehall. The outcome of the debate will be published after the meeting."

Householders wanting to recycle cardboard now have to take it to one of the county's five recycling centres or recycling banks.

Councillor Mansel Williams said he hoped for a full and frank debate.

"The gentleman has five minutes to speak and there should then be a proper discussion on this," he said.

Councillor Williams added the petition showed people in Shropshire wanted to continue to do their bit and recycle as much as possible.

Veolia and Shropshire Council have said they are in talks to find a new way waste cardboard can be collected from county homes.