£25 a year to have brown bin collected

Food waste will continue to be picked up for free

Householders across Perth and Kinross will have to decide in the next few months whether they wish to pay £25 per year for their garden waste to be uplifted or dispose of the waste themselves.

The council’s decision to reintroduce an annual charge for emptying brown-lidded bins across the region as of April next year follows the lead taken by other Scottish local authorities like Angus Council, which has reported a service uptake rate of only around 50%.

Councillors heard last Wednesday the reintroduction of the rate, which was rubber-stamped back in February this year, will allow council chiefs to collect around £880,000 a year if around 50% of those eligible for the service in Perth and Kinross choose to pay for uplifts.

Introducing a paper setting out how the new regime will work Cllr Mike Barnacle, the vice-convener of the council’s environment, enterprise and infrastructure committee, said householders will be notified about the change by a mail drop at the start of next year.

The paper clarified: “As part of the budget setting process in February 2017, it was agreed that PKC would reinstate an annual charge of £25 for the uplift of household garden waste. Food waste will continue to be collected from households free of charge in the brown-lidded bin.

“An internal working group has been established to consult on internal procedures, policies and detail the requirements to implement the garden waste subscription service.

“Currently 80% of Perth and Kinross households are eligible to participate in the brown-lidded bin service, approximately 57,171 properties.

“It is proposed that all qualifying households will receive a direct mailing in January 2018 advising them of the service change, asking that they register and pay (preferably online) in anticipation of the April 1, 2018 start date.

“Customers subscribing will be issued a permit by direct mailing to attach to their brown-lidded bin. The permit will identify to the collection crew that the bin has been authorised

Currently 80% of Perth and Kinross households are eligible to participate in the brownlidded bin service, approximately 57,171 properties

to contain garden waste and can be uplifted across the full financial year detailed on the permit.

“Permits will be registered to an individual premise; they will be nontransferrable and non-refundable.”

Cllr Barnacle remarked it was “unfortunate” the charge was being brought back but added he hoped its reintroduction would be accompanied by the roll-out of improved collection services to outlying areas.