Councils Propose Green Waste Charges

19 August 2011

The number of councils that charge for the collection of green waste is on the rise as local authorities struggle with budgets

Uttlesford district council in Essex, Poole borough council in Dorset, Kirklees in West Yorkshire and the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority have all outlined plans over the last month to introduce charges.

The charges - which average at around £25 a year - are being proposed to help councils generate income in the face of local authority budget cuts of 26 percent over the next four years.

Under the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992, garden waste is classified under Schedule 2 as a type of waste for which a charge can be made - which is not the case for other waste streams, such as food waste.

According to WRAP, 26 percent of UK councils had a charged-for garden waste collection service in 2009/10.

According to a Waste Improvement Network (WIN) Focus document - which brings together advice, top tips and lessons learnt from those councils which have already started charging for their garden waste collection services - the advantages of introducing a subscription-based garden waste service include the creation of extra revenue for the council and an incentive for householders to home compost their organic waste.

It also claims that it is a fairer system financially, as those who do not use the service do not end up paying for it through their council tax.

It also says, however, that such schemes can cause public dissatisfaction, increase garden waste arisings in those properties taking part and reduce the tonnages of garden waste collected on commencement of the scheme and thereby reduce recycling rates.

A spokesman for WRAP said that it was currently auditing figures showing how many councils were charging for green waste in 2010/11 so it was hard to say if there had been an increase compared to 2009/10.

Darrel Moore

For the letsrecycle.com story CLICK HERE