Read Hitchin MP Bim Afolami's monthly Nub News column.

His latest column is entitled: Standing Up for Residents on Bin Collections 

Bin collections are one of the most important services that North Herts Council provides, writes Bim Afolami MP.

We all rely on a good bin collection service so that we can adequately manage our domestic waste and to ensure that our area remains a clean, tidy place to live – somewhere we can all be proud of. 

In my six years as your local Member of Parliament, that is the thing you have told me above all else – we are all incredibly proud to call the beautiful towns, villages and countryside that make up our corner of Hertfordshire home. It is a core tenet of my conservatism, that we should protect and enhance the communities where we live, so that we can continue to be proud of our area. 

It is what motivates my campaign to protect our area from the threat of Luton Airport expansion. So that our villages and rural roads remain quiet, unpolluted, idyllic places to live and spend time. 

It is what motivates my plan to expand the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty across North Hertfordshire. So that we can unlock new powers to protect and enhance our beautiful countryside, historic communities, ancient woodlands, rare chalk streams and rural way of life. 

Conservatism isn't about conserving things just for the sake of standing still. It is about ensuring that progress is made in a way that captures the essence of our communities and that makes us prouder of the places where we live. 

North Herts Council's plans to reduce general domestic waste collections from two to three weeks would not make North Hertfordshire into a better place to live. They would leave us with the worst bin collection rota in our region. 

In the Council's own consultation, just 24% of North Hertfordshire residents agreed that they would be able to manage their waste effectively with three weekly collections. Reducing bin collections would lead to overflowing bins and bin bags on the street. It would lead to public health concerns and vermin on our streets. And it would cause increased littering and fly-tipping. 

All for a relatively minor cost saving – amounting to just over 2% of the money the Council receives from local people and businesses each year. 

Working alongside local colleagues, I want to make sure that Hitchin and the villages remain somewhere that we can be proud to call home. That's why, alongside the hundreds of residents who have backed our campaign, I'm calling on the Council to bin this cut, not cut the bins.