Localshit with£25 charge

Householders are to face £25-a-year charges for garden waste uplifts from next year.

Perth and Kinross Council is to roll out permits affecting the brown-lidded wheelie bins from April 1.

But the proposed fee will not affect food waste uplifts, which are often lumped in beside garden waste in the same wheelie bins.

The news came to light at the most recent meeting of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council, held earlier this month in the Adult Resource Centre on Jessie Street.

At the meeting, concerns were expressed about the proposals, with one community councillor commenting: “Apparently there is no statutory requirement for the council to collect garden waste.

“However, we are already paying our council tax and now they are going to add an extra £25 a year for this service.”

A spokesperson for the council said the proposal was rubber-stamped at the local authority’s budget-setting meeting in February this year.

In a statement, the spokesperson said: “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, enterprise and infrastructure committee later in the year outlining how the scheme will be implemented.”