Cllr Rachel Allison has been battling to improve bin collections.

Could Haringey’s inequality fund be used to fix borough bin problems?

by Flora Drury Saturday, August 4, 2012
3:00 PM

A fund created to tackle inequality in Haringey may end up being used to tackle bin problems, it has been revealed.

Haringey Council has applied to its own One Borough, One Future fund to finance five full-time officers to work on the waste scheme until March 2013, leaving opposition Liberal Democrat councillors seething.

The council received more than 300 applications for the fund, which invited people to put forward ideas on how to tackle inequality in the borough.

Highgate councillor Rachel Allison, who has been battling to improve bin collections in the area around Milton Road, said: “You couldn’t make this up. Only in Haringey could you have a council who has to apply to its own ‘innovation’ fund to get bin collections right.

“How much is this mess going to end up costing the taxpayer?

“The One Borough, One Future fund is supposed to tackle inequality not bin collections. The only thing that’s unequal about this is that Haringey’s refuse collection is clearly not equal to Camden’s.”

A council spokesperson said: “This bid was nothing more than a service area looking for additional funds to compliment important engagement work for a scheme already driving up recycling rates.”