TOP councillors plan to cut controversial charges for waste collection.
But the proposed cuts unveiled today have already been condemned.
They have been labelled as "piecemeal" and have been rubbished for not going far enough.
Liberal councillor Elaine Sims has joined the Labour party in calling for all charges to be scrapped.
She says they are a stealth tax hitting vulnerable people least able to pay.
Under the current scheme introduced in April, it costs householders £12 to have three items of bulky waste or bags of garden rubbish removed.
Next Wednesday Clr David Payne, Cabinet member with responsibility for the environment, will recommend a charge of £6 for one item, followed by £3 each for any additional item.
However, a sample survey has shown that out of 200 jobs ordered in Kirklees, 63 were for collecting one item, and a further 45 for two items.
That means just under half were for three or more items and the overall costs of removal will not change for many people under the plans.
Clr Sims has handed over a 1,000-name petition to the ruling Liberal Democrat party calling for an end to the initiative.
"How many of the Liberal Democrats in the cabinet drawing their fat cat salaries really understand the hardship that they have caused to those who proudly keep their gardens tidy?"
But Clr Payne replied that since the charging policy was introduced, waiting lists for rubbish removal have dropped from 28 days to six days.
He added: "The policy is part of the overall drive to reduce the amount of waste produced, and to encourage people to think of alternatives such as re-cycling."
Council figures show about 10% of householders use the service each year. "The alternative to them paying a small charge for the service would be for the 90 per cent who don't use the service to pay extra through their council tax to pay for those who do."
Low income householders who have a Kirklees Priority Passport and people who are on the assisted wheel bin collection scheme will still not be charged.
He said that between April and the end of September 2003 there were 1485 fly tipping cases reported compared with 1305 the year before.
Labour Group Leader Clr Mehboob Khan has called the charges to be binned immediately: "The Liberal Democrats should come clean and admit that waste charges are a barmy idea and drop the silly charges that have led to a massive increase in fly tipping.
"People on fixed incomes will still pay more than under Labour and fly tipping will sadly still continue to be a menace and only an end to charges will satisfy the public."
He said the council made just £1 from each rubbish collection.
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