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English councils could soon be providing free curbside garden waste collections

barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,670
in The potting shed
The Garden News reports that the government are looking at a scheme in England to scrap the fee that most councils now charge for collecting garden green waste which ranges from £24-£96/year. My local council has charged £42/year for two years now but as I have an allotment plot I chose to transport my green waste there to compost it rather to pay the council to get rid of it.
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  • B3B3 Posts: 25,266
    I don't mind paying about a pound a week for my garden waste to be collected.
    I wish they had a weekly/ monthly junk collection.  I know you can book for stuff to be collected but it would be good if a lorry did the rounds once a week. 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,330
    I have 2 green garden waste bins, they are emptied weekly throughout the year and I've never been charged extra for the service
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    Ours is free - in so much as I've never seen a bill specifically for green waste.
  • seacrowsseacrows Posts: 231
    Wow. If Cheshire starts charging for removing 'compostable' waste (including cooked food but not sawdust and straw) a compost bin is shooting up my priority list.
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 2,893
    Ours started charging about 3 years ago.
    East Lancs
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,448
    Free up to 2 years ago here, now, about £1per week. All year round,charge was because the council changed companies,we have a big garden,3 compost bins was making a weekly by trip to the tip
  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Ours in north London started charging for garden waste collection about three years ago too. We have purpose built brown wheelie bins, that cost £50 a year. Almost nobody has one in our area (you can count them in the front gardens). Many local people regard the council as The Enemy and refuse to give them one penny more than they have to. But also with very small spaces in front of houses and flats, it's often difficult to squeeze in one more wheelie bin.

    Before we had woven sacks that we could fill in the garden, and it was a great system.  The wheelie bins might be easier on the bin staff - not getting a facefull of bramble. It's hard to say. During hard core austerity times, they were talking about scrapping all recycling and garden waste collections all together. I'm glad it didn't come to that.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 2,968
    Not sure when our council (Somerset) began charging for Green Waste wheelie bin as I've only had the need for one the last couple of years.
    For a fortnightly collection, the cost is £57 per bin pa. 
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    I'm in South Cambridgeshire and we already have free green waste collection (been here for 3 years). Is it more common that people have to pay for this service? 
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • steveTusteveTu Posts: 2,659
    It used to be free here (Wealden), but they started charging a couple of years ago. To be honest, I had no issue at all with it  being a separately chargeable service, as it's better that I pay rather than it's on the rates and someone in a block of flats pays. At least this way, even I have the option to pay or make my own trips to the tip - but for roughly £1 a week, it's a no-brainer.
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