One of the most unusual questions asked of council leaders was enquiring whether or not there had been any claims against the local authority for injury or damage caused by wheelie bins.

Such is the desire of opposition councillors, particularly the Lib Dems, to demonise these ‘wheeled bins’ and instil in residents an irrational fear of the plastic menace, they are now clutching at straws.

Lib Dem MP for Yardley John Hemming has made a genuine point about the wisdom of spending £30 million in set-up costs on a million wheelie bins and fleet of trucks at a time of austerity.

While charging for the previously free garden waste collection is also a justifiable point on which to challenge the ruling Labour group.

But increasingly the complaints from opponents are now creeping beyond the reasonable into the, well, rubbish.

I won’t embarrass the individuals named, as often written questions are scripted for them by their party leaders.

One is the ongoing complaints that the roads in parts of Birmingham are too hilly – even though neighbouring hilly areas have used the bins with ease for years.

Another enquiry about missing bins found that of 80,000 delivered so far only 532 were reported missing and in 52 cases the resident has been billed for replacement.

There is also the ridiculous idea that the city has a pick and mix system with optional wheelie bins or black bags – this would require twice as many lorries covering miles of streets each day.

And taking the biscuit was the question on whether or not there have been any claims for injury or damage caused by wheelie bins.

The answer of course was ‘no claims have been received’.

A quick internet search, admittedly not scientific research, found no specific examples of wheelie bin injuries anywhere in the 80 per cent of the UK which uses them.

In fact there were a couple of ‘injury fear’ items focused on the binmen pulling them about all day as well as the very good point that authorities which introduce wheelie bins see a fall in injuries and days off with bad backs caused by heaving black sacks about.

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On the linked topic of green waste charging cabinet member for a green and sustainable city, Lisa Trickett, has articulated the clearest argument yet in support of charges.

She pointed out that in the age of austerity “the idea that you can leave anything by the roadside and the council will pick it is wrong and unsustainable”.

She recognises that its introduction was too hasty and that there are ‘systemic’ problems with the refuse collection service – not least the communication with residents via the call centre or website complaints.

She said given more time they would have invested in community, and garden, composting schemes, increased capacity at the tips, phased the introduction and probably avoided the wholesale confusion and widespread dumping which blighted the city in the spring and early summer.

Her appearance at scrutiny happened to coincide with the Labour leader’s keynote conference speech and, despite her fears that she is more boring than Ed, she was certainly more entertaining and enlightening than Mr Miliband’s speech – or at least the parts of it he can remember.

It is indeed these problems with implementation and operation that councillor Trickett has been brought in to sort out and it seems she is getting a grip on the notoriously troublesome service.

Meanwhile, the political opposition will argue that the charges should never have been introduced and there are other services or spending which should be cut first or savings to be made in the much maligned ‘back office’. That is an argument for the voters of Birmingham to settle (although after multiple waves of back office efficiencies going back to the start of council business transformation a decade ago there must be little or no back office left).

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Cabinet member for transport Tahir Ali must have thought the anger following last autumn’s bus lane enforcement fiasco had subsided. It was about a year ago that thousands of fines were issued to unsuspecting motorists driving in poorly signposted bus lanes on Priory Queensway and the Moor Street tunnel.

Coun Ali and his officers waved away the protests from taxi drivers, aggrieved motorists, this column and the transport srutiny committee and stubbornly refused to back down until the failings were exposed by a traffic parking tribunal months later.

In July Coun Ali was given his second grilling by the scrutiny committee and promised to come back with the legal advice which prevents him from giving refunds, or showing discretion, on fines issued wrongly. Having pocketed about £1.9 million in total from the fines it is clear the transport department is reluctant to give some of the money back.

His reply this week was found, in his absence, to be badly wanting and went little way to addressing the questions raised.

Opposition transport spokesman Timothy Huxtable said: “The tactic seems to be that the councillor is resisting and ignoring everyone until the problem goes away. Yet there are still issues that need to be resolved.”

Councillors are rightly anxious this is dealt with before even more enforcement cameras go up on main commuter routes in the city.