Uplifts fee for garden waste is rubbished
Householders will face £25-a-year charges for garden waste uplifts starting in 2018, the Perthshire Advertiser can reveal.
Perth and Kinross Council is to roll out permits affecting the brown lidded wheelie bins from April 1 next year.
But the proposed fee will not affect food waste uplifts, which are often lumped in beside garden waste in the same wheelie bins.
A spokesperson for the council said the proposal was rubber-stamped and that PKC’s new council after May 4 will decide on how the scheme should be implemented, with a report to go before the environment committee.
The PA was contacted by residents in west Perthshire who were concerned at the move.
One woman, who asked not to be identified, was angry at the proposal.
“The council has sneaked this through and thinks people won’t notice.
“I’d like to see what the recycling rate is before and after this is introduced. It’s just plain daft to think that we can be charged for garden waste - will the council’s binmen have a checklist of what is garden waste and what is food waste? Garden waste uplifts being re-introduced
Will the strawberries I grow in my garden be deemed as garden waste if they get pecked by birds and left unfit for human consumption, or will they be food?”
The local authority stated that the permits plan is in fact a re-introduction of chargeable garden waste uplifts, which was dropped in 2004.
It would only affect those currently receiving the service.
At February’s meeting papers stated that the reinstatement of charges would let the local authority raise around £840,000 a year.
But analysis of the scheme also revealed a risk that people would resist paying the levy and that it could affect recycling rates.
Neighbouring authorities, including Angus, have similar charges, while comparison has been drawn with English councils where charges can be nearly double that of those proposed here.
In a statement, PKC responded: “At the council’s budget setting meeting on February 22, it was agreed that a chargeable garden waste service will be reintroduced in Perth and Kinross from April 1, 2018.
“Food waste will continue to be collected from householders free of charge through the uplift of brown lidded bins but garden waste will only be collected from those households with a permit costing £25 for each brown lidded bin.
“This covers only those currently receiving the service.
“A number of other councils have also either introduced a similar scheme or are planning to do so. Where this has been introduced, uptake is high with no significant impact on recycling.
“A committee report will be brought to the council’s environment committee later in the year outlining how the scheme will be implemented.”