Harrogate Borough Council will stop the garden waste collection service on 26 June 2017.
Initially, the new opt-in subscription service will be offered to all households in the area where garden waste is currently collected. The service will then be expanded to all properties in the district from 2018.
Currently, the council offers a kerbside wheeled bin collection for garden waste to approximately two thirds of residential properties in the district.
The subscription service will run fortnightly from March until the beginning of December, with a winter break in December, January and February when no collections take place.
The cost of the service will be £23.40 per bin in 2017, as it only covers collections from the end of June to the beginning of December. In 2018 the subscription service will run from March until the start of December and will cost £39.
Households who currently receive the garden waste collection service will receive a letter shortly with the details about the changes and how they can sign up to the new subscription service. Residents will be able to subscribe to the service by visiting www.harrogate.gov.uk/gardenwaste or by contacting the council’s customer services team on 01423 500 600.
For those households who currently use the garden waste collection service, but who do not wish to subscribe in the future, collections will stop on 24 June 2017.
Households who choose not to subscribe to the scheme will be able to dispose of their garden waste for free by taking it to one of the local household waste recycling centres or by home composting.
Patrick Kilburn, Harrogate Borough Council’s Head of Parks and Environmental Services said: The decision to introduce a charge for our garden waste collection service was not taken lightly. Whilst our current service is greatly valued by our customers, there is a large proportion of residents who are currently unable to receive it.
To ensure that in the long term the service we offer is fair, we want to give all households across the district the opportunity to access this service.
Whilst we would like to expand this discretionary service for free, this is simply not possible due to reductions in council funding. The only way we can do this is by making it optional, where residents who wish to use the service pay an annual subscription.
Like many other local authorities nationally we have introduced what we feel is a reasonable charge for the garden waste service.
The revenue generated from the subscription garden waste scheme will allow us to expand the service and help us to develop other recycling initiatives, which will have a positive impact on our environment.
Why do we pay council tax if we have too pay for every other service are we going too recive a reduction on council tax charges then. Harrogate borough council must think we are thick or something. I won’t be paying it , it’s a joke. Cheeky gets
Does this mean we get a refund on our outrageous council tax bill, after all, the collection service must have been in the original costings half a year ago?
Anyone not wishing to have this service will not be able to keep the bin till December
When unused bins will be collected. I think we should send them a bill for storing council property on our property. What is the rate per week£2 ?????