Council say Aspire Ryde had bins ‘accidentally’ collected free for two years

Aspire Ryde have called a public meeting to discuss the removal of their waste bins by Amey and the Isle of Wight Council, who said they had been receiving the free service for two years by accident.

The charity say they are “shocked and disturbed” at the removal of all their waste bins.

They also say this could close some of their services that involve free food, painting, wood work, cycling, books and other free projects for the community.

A spokesman for the charity said: “They now expect us to spend thousands on a commercial waste contract.

“This will result in a number of our recycling projects needing to end and they don’t seem to be bothered!”

The meeting takes place at Aspire Ryde at 9.30am on Friday (November 30) to discuss the impact of the removal and explore if there any other options other than the closure of several services.

A spokesman for the IW Council said: “Ryde Aspire has been in communication with the council for a number of weeks recently regarding the services they have been accidentally receiving for free for the past two years, when it was raised that the five 240 litre black bins at the Dover Street site were overflowing.

“The council has reiterated to Ryde Aspire that we are happy to work with their team to find a low cost solution for the waste and recycling and there are definitely some free ways to dispose of unsaleable donations and their some of their business waste as detailed above.

“We are committed to support charities where possible and will treat all charities in an equitable way on the Island. As officers of the council, we are bound to act in compliance with the various pieces of legislation that govern us.

“The council has set out to Ryde Aspire the parts of legislation and the relevant exemptions to those regulations and advised them to come back to us with which part of the exemptions they feel apply to the charitable business or to have a chat with the environment agency, who regulate commercial waste, to see if they can advise on whether the exemptions apply.

“Council officers have offered Ryde Aspire a meeting to discuss matters and work out a way forward and provided two weeks’ notice of the removal of the free household service to ensure sufficient time to set up a replacement service.

“Ryde Aspire may also continue to use the charity permits for the tip for free as they have done in the past for their unsalable donations.”