Council to begin garden waste charges.

The collection service will now cost homes £25 per year

Council chiefs are preparing to reintroduce an annual charge for the collection of garden waste across Perth and Kinross.

The charges will begin in April and will see households have to apply for a £25 garden waste permit in order to continue having brown bins collected.

Homes will, however, still be able to recycle all of their cooked and uncooked food waste in their brown bin free of charge.

Perth and Kinross Council collected garden waste for free since 2004, when government funding made that possible.

In the current economic climate, however, the council has said it must reintroduce the charges it once levied.

The local authority said the garden waste charge was one of a number of “difficult decisions” that had to be taken given pressures on its budget.

The charge will not affect all households, as some parts of the region do not have access to the garden and food waste service due to “the costs associated with operating the service over such a large geographical area”.

The chargeable garden waste service will only be available to households who currently receive a brown bin service.

Letters will begin going out to households in January, advising of the charge and how to register and pay for a permit.

A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “When the garden waste service was first introduced to householders in the late 1990s it was a chargeable service.

“It was not until 2004 due to funding through the Scottish Executive’s Strategic Waste Fund that the service was able to be expanded and be offered free of charge to the majority of Perth and Kinross residents.

“In the current economic climate, councils must make difficult financial decisions.”

The annual charge for 2018/19 will be £25 per bin for all those who want to use the service, with households allowed a maximum of two per property.

Residents will have to apply for a permit for each bin if they are both to be used for garden waste.

Once this has been paid, the householder will receive their permit, which will have to be attached to the bin to indicate to collection crews to uplift.

Bins presented for collection containing garden waste will not be emptied unless they bear a valid permit.

Householders can continue to dispose of garden waste free of charge at local recycling centres.

In the current economic climate, councils must make difficult decisions. PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL SPOKESMAN