The way rubbish is collected and disposed of needs a complete overhaul, according to Merton Council’s environment policy boss.

Councillor Andrew Judge said Merton Council needed to bring about a single service for waste services with its neighbours in Sutton, Kingston and Croydon – the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) – for which an incinerator is likely to play a central role.

Coun Judge said: “We have to move on from sticking rubbish into a hole in the ground, and if we are tied into a 30-year contract for a new waste facility, our plan is that there would be a lot more joint working.

“One service would mean greater economies of scale, such as not having two sets of collections in places like St Helier, and only needing one set of managers.”

Coun Judge said the wide-ranging plans meant Merton Council’s Labour administration could not rule out bringing in wheelie bins, a policy heavily opposed by opposition Conservative councillors.

At a full council at Merton Civic Centre in Morden, the Labour group and three Merton Park Independent councillors blocked a Conservative motion that would commit the council to drop the policy.

The Conservative group’s environment spokesman, Councillor Henry Nelless, said: “Labour was always destined to let residents down, but the real disappointment is that, despite the Merton Park ward councillors holding the balance of power, they seem content to slavishly follow every Labour policy.”

Merton Park ward residents voted in May to reject the wheelie bins plan and last month a cross-party waste services review, led by Merton Park Independent Councillor John Sargeant, recommended the council abandon plans for wheelie bins.

But Coun Sargeant said: “The Conservatives’ motion just seemed so arrogant.

“It could mean that the council was condemned to miss out on a major commercial opportunity that could save an awful lot of money.

“This is not an academic debating point; we are really working on the margins here.”

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