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# Committee chairman “cannot agree” to public meeting over Lichfield and Burntwood recycling bags mix-up
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillor-rules-out-holding-meeting-in-public-to-discuss-mix-up-over-new-recycling-bags/
- Published: 2022-05-01T11:18:14.000Z
- Updated: 2022-05-01T11:18:23.000Z
- Description: A councillor has ruled out a public meeting to investigate issues surrounding why homes in Lichfield and Burntwood were given new recycling bags smaller than they should have been.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:11, News

A councillor has ruled out holding a meeting in public to investigate issues surrounding why homes in Lichfield and Burntwood were given new recycling bags smaller than they should have been.

![Cllr David Leytham](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/leytham.jpg)

Cllr David Leytham

Lichfield District Council has admitted that the new bags are a third smaller than the 81-litres they had been expecting.

But with the bags already distributed, the local authority has said people will need to begin using them anyway amidst a backlash from residents who say they have been full of paper and card within days.

Cllr Steve Norman, leader of the Labour opposition group, had [called for a task group meeting on the issue to be held in public](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/post-mortem-on-recycling-bags-mix-up-must-not-be-held-in-private-councillor-says/) to avoid adding to “the suspicions of residents”.

But Cllr David Leytham, chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, has ruled out such a move.

In a response to Cllr Norman, he said:

> “After discussions, I accepted that the best way to deal with the blue bag affair is to have a full briefing, establish the facts, give them some thought and then decide which way scrutiny will go.  
>  
> “I want to ensure we have a clear starting point before we investigate what Lichfield District Council has done well and not so well.  
>  
> “I cannot agree to public meetings because at some stage we are bound to explore contractual issues, which I am sure you will agree, should not be made public.  
>  
> “The briefing will be online to attract a good attendance.”  
>  
> Cllr David Leytham, Lichfield District Council

Cllr Norman said he was disappointed by the decision:

> “I think it’s a missed opportunity to show members and the public the independence and non party-political nature of scrutiny over the blue bags issue.”  
>  
> Cllr Steve Norman, Lichfield District Council has