Letter to the Editor Dear Sir, Over a period which now extends for nearly 18 months I have been questioningLib Dem Councillors at the Vale over their mismanagement of the brown binscheme. This scheme allows you or me to pay £34.50 a year to have gardenwaste and cardboard collected on a weekly basis. The Vale has been failingto collect the money for these bins for a long period now, and I am toldthey are only just getting to grips with the problem. At one time theestimate was that the outstanding bill would cost council taxpayers around£40,000. Sadly the next Vale Council meeting has been cancelled due to "lack ofbusiness" and so the Conservative Opposition will not have the opportunityto publicly question the Lib Dems on this ongoing saga. Nevertheless I hopethat the Conservatives can work to encourage action where the Lib Dems havefailed. I have requested the Vale Chief Executive to investigate thepossibility of introducing a small discount for those who pay for theirbrown bin by direct debit, similar to that which is offered for manyservices. This would encourage people to use direct debit, which is moreconvenient for most people, cheaper to administer and would help the councilcollect the funds more effectively. The cost for those not using a directdebit would remain the same. I hope that the Lib Dems will support this scheme as just one small measurewhich will help dig the Vale out of the financial mess in which it findsitself.