Council spends £21,000 on waste charge letters

A WELSH council spent £21,000 sending letters to 50,000 households informing them about new garden waste charges, it has been revealed.

The letter, which cost about 42p a household, has been sent out in recent weeks as Gwynedd council prepares to introduce yearly charges of up to £33 for residents to have their garden waste collected fortnightly.

The changes will see residents charged £33 a year for collecting their garden waste in a 240 litre-size bin and £28 a year for every additional or smaller 140 litre bin.

The charges, rubber-stamped by the council’s cabinet earlier this year, will be introduced from January 9.

Gwynedd county councillor Sion Jones questioned the amount of money spent on the letters, distributed to residents by the Waste and Streetscene Management Service, at a time when the council faces cuts of £4.6m to its budget.

Mr Jones said: “I understand that it’s important to explain these changes for people who will be using brown bins.

“But why didn’t the council find a cheaper way?”

A Gwynedd council spokesman said: “When the council introduces a significant change to a widely used service, it is customary for detailed information about the changes and new arrangements to be communicated directly to residents by letter.

“As a secondary measure, and as was the case with the garden waste collection arrangements, information was also published via the local press and the council’s own residents’ newsletter.”