A SENIOR member of Scottish Borders Council’s new Conservative/Independent ruling group has refused to rule out the re-introduction of regular kerbside garden waste uplifts in the region.

The fortnightly green bin collections for 38,000 mainly urban households were controversially withdrawn in March 2014 by the previous SNP/Independent/Lib Dem administration at Newtown, despite an 8,000-signature petition demanding retention.

At last week’s council meeting, Councillor David Paterson (Ind) said that cost-cutting decision had been “a major issue” at the local government elections in May.

“Several candidates made a big play of this,” said Mr Paterson who was the executive member for environmental services in the last council, but is now in opposition.

“I want to know if the new council has any plans to reintroduce the service and to say if it will be extended to include rural communities.”

He was told by Councillor Gordon Edgar (Ind), executive member for roads and infrastructure, that the council was currently reviewing all its kerbside collections as part of its overall waste management strategy.

“No decisions will be taken on kerbside collection services until such time that a report has been presented to council for consideration.”

When pressed by Mr Paterson on when this report would be forthcoming, Mr Edgar: “The report is being prepared and it will come to this council when it is appropriate.”

The officers reviewing waste management have much to ponder, not least how the council can meet proscriptive Scottish Government targets to restrict the amount of waste going to landfill and to boost recycling.

In 2015, a contract between SBC and a private company to deliver an incineration-based waste treatment plant at Easter Langlee to divert 40,000 tonnes of household and residual waste a year away from landfill, was scrapped.

And a subsequent proposal for a waste transfer station at the same site was refused planning consent in April this year.