Adrian Patch, of Haymans Cottage, Liverton, Independent candidate for Haytor Ward in Teignbridge Council elections, writes: The Lib-Dems claim it's a 'tax' while its really to be a voluntary charge; the Tories are claiming 'no council-tax rise', while the widespread charge will affect most – certainly in my ward; residents I talk to, meanwhile, are concerned about the increase in fly-tipping that might result. At the root of this new charge is the fact that a fleet of collection vehicles needs replacing – at considerable expense.

Consider the current situation (as I understand it): Teignbridge Council collects the garden waste before it is handed over to a partnership between Devon Local Authorities and Viridor Ltd, a company that in other parts of the country is able to produce and sell a premium soil-improver/compost product from green/garden waste. Locally, I am told, there are 'legislative problems' with providing the compost to the public, though materials can be delivered (for a charge) to large farms for composting.

Firstly, then, let's have the local processing facility upgraded to BSI PAS 100 and quality-marked, so that the compost might be distributed to the public. Could we then negotiate some benefit for Teignbridge 'tax'/charge payers in terms of return of compost for their gardens, or maybe a future arrangement might see Teignbridge gain some income (and garden 'tax'/charge removal) from local compost sales? Alternatively, could we negotiate shifting some of the financial burden of replacing the fleet collecting the raw materials from Teignbridge residents to the company that profits from selling a premium garden product?

I suggest this without knowledge of the current contractual details, and suspect the answer lies with the local authority/Viridor 'partnership', but I still hope that a solution that works better for local 'tax'/charge payers might be found, instead of the usual politicking.