Anger over £400 iPad scheme for binmen

Bury Council, facing budget cuts of £18m, is reportedly to buy 22 of the tablet computers to mount on dashboards guiding bin wagons around the town.

The council, which will not say how much they have spent on the Apple devices, claims it will help save cash by improving collection rates, customer service standards and boost recycling.

Critics say the same job could be done with a pen and paper.

The campaign manager of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Robert Oxley, said: “It beggars belief that a council making huge savings can find this money to splash out on iPads.

“Residents want bin services that are reliable and efficient, not council staff monitoring what they’re throwing out with expensive gimmicks.

“It’s an insult to local residents who are tightening their belts in tough times that the council is wasting their money on fanciful ideas like this.”

Bury Council, which must make £18m in savings over the next three years, is buying 22 of the iPads, one for each bin wagon, which if bought in shops for around £400, comes to a bill of £8,800.

The devices must be mounted in bin wagon cabs and binmen will also have to be trained to use the gadgets.

The scheme is due to be presented to councillors in a report by officers but has reportedly already been rubber-stamped as going ahead.

No one at Bury Council, or councillors contacted by the Press Association news agency, was available today to verify the information or give comment.

A spokesman at the town hall said: “They are not dealing with that today. They don’t deem it to be an emergency.” There was no information about the scheme on Bury Council’s website.

It is understood the iPads will be used to compile a list of residents who do not recycle and who needs assistance in putting their bins out.

Council management claims the new scheme will also cut down on paperwork.