Town halls charging £100 to pick up garden waste

FAMILIES are being charged up to almost £100 a year for garden waste disposal.

Sixty per cent of councils now charge for the service, with the highest annual fee reaching £96. And nearly all town halls make householders pay for the collection of bulky waste, according to Freedom of Information requests

Nottingham City Council makes no charge however and says its free collection of items ranging from furniture to televisions has been a major factor in a 42 per cent fall in flytipping rates.

Lichfield and Tamworth councils in Staffordshire are among the latest to bring in paid-for garden waste services, blaming this on a loss of central government funding.

‘We recognise residents do not welcome the extra charge, but by introducing a producer pays policy we are aiming to make the service charge as fair as possible, so only those who use it pay for it,’ the councils said in a statement.

Martin Tett, of the Local Government Association, said: ‘Some councils were able to provide free garden and bulky waste services when they were first introduced but are now having to charge to reflect the growing cost of providing a collection service. Money from garden and bulky waste collection charges goes back into maintaining the service.’

The research was carried out by the Press Association.