Town still has no one in charge of rubbish (From Warrington Guardian)

Town still has no one in charge of rubbish

CONTROVERSY surrounds a newly-created job at Warrington Borough Council.

The council has failed to appoint somebody to take on the head of waste management portfolio, despite interviewing existing council officers.

Waste management is high on the council's agenda at the moment as it strives to hit Government targets.

One council insider believes pressure to meet these targets is to blame for the lack of an appointment to the new post.

He said: "The council has received a letter from the secretary of state saying that it (the council) needs to buck its ideas up where recycling is concerned.

"The council is under pressure to meet targets, and it has failed to appoint because of this."

But David Whitehead, Warrington Borough Council's chief executive, countered this by saying: "The job is a new one, with wider roles and responsibilities. It does not, therefore, currently exist within the council.

"The fact that the council has not filled the post from within the current team of managers cannot be taken as a criticism of existing performance in any way, and all experienced business people will understand that aspect."

Residents of the town currently recycle nearly 13 per cent of all their household waste, and the council is working to try to improve that figure to 17 per cent next year.

The only other management post still to be filled is head of community.