Councillors have aired their concern at a move by Cornwall Council’s housing wing which could see bins removed from estates across the Duchy.

Truro councillor Karen La Borde said she was “quite distressed” to discover that Cornwall Housing was removing bins from a council estate in the city.

The issue was highlighted during a successful motion from Cllr James Mustoe (Mevagissey & St Austell Bay, Conservative) to launch a Keep Cornwall Clean campaign, which will refresh and relaunch support for volunteer litter picking and beach cleaning groups across Cornwall, working with partners such as Clean Cornwall and Biffa.

Cllr Dean Evans (Penryn, Green Party) told a meeting of the full council this week that Cornwall Housing “are presently trying to persuade town and parish councils to take over financial responsibility for litter bins on their housing estates or, failing that, removing them. I very much hope that any Cornwall-wide strategy will not include the wholesale removal of litter bins.”

Cornwall Housing manages and maintains around 10,200 council homes across the Duchy.

Cllr La Borde (Gloweth, Malabar & Shortlanesend, Green Party) added: “I was quite distressed to find out that Cornwall Housing are removing the bins from Malabar estate and Truro City Council do not seem like they wish to take up the slack. One of the things we know about waste is, if you keep your streets clean, there’s less chance of people littering.

“This is about more litter bins and more street cleaning, but from what I’m seeing what Cornwall Council is doing with this motion is saying ‘we’re not going to do it, we’re going to let volunteer groups do it’ and they’re abdicating responsibility. I think Cornwall Housing needs to make sure that all those bins remain in our communities.”

Cllr Andrew Mitchell (St Ives West & Towednack, Independent) added that Cornwall Council “won’t even put new bins anywhere unless they’re paid £90 a year to empty them. In St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant, there are a number of hotspots for rubbish and Cornwall Council won’t put any bin there because they will not accept the cost for emptying it.

“Maybe Cornwall Council could work more proactively with parish councils and residents’ groups who are requesting help.”

We have approached Cornwall Council for a comment on the bins issue.

A motion from Cllr Ruth Gripper (Mylor, Perranarworthal & Ponsanooth, Liberal Democrat) calling for urgent action to tackle sewage pollution in Cornwall’s rivers and beaches was also approved at the meeting. The motion commits the council to work with South West Water and other stakeholders, including through a summit, to address repeated pollution incidents.

Council leader Cllr Leigh Frost (Bodmin St Petroc’s, Liberal Democrat) welcomed the motion, adding: “Residents are rightly furious that our rivers and beaches are repeatedly polluted, and South West Water’s performance has been frankly appalling. Clean water is not a luxury – it is tied to our health, our environment and our economy. This council will continue to keep South West Water under firm and public pressure until we see real and sustained improvement.”