Changes announced to garden waste collection scheme

Rossendale Borough Council is introducing changes to the garden waste collection service.

From March 2018 the fortnightly service will be provided on a subscription basis and will be charged at £35.

The move is the result of cuts introduced by central government and the decision by Lancashire County Council to reduce its support for recycling services by more than £500,000.

Rossendale Borough Council had been one of the last councils in Lancashire to provide a free garden waste collection service.

However, garden waste collection is non-statutory service and costs the Council £130,000 a year with extra resources having to be put into it at times to maintain the service.

Therefore in order to continue the provide garden collection a cross party working group has agreed that a charge will need to be introduced.

Over the next couple of weeks the annual waste collection calendar and a leaflet will be delivered throughout the borough, which explains the changes and details of how residents can subscribe to the service.

The service includes a reduced charge of £30 for additional bins and charities and communities groups are exempt.

Households are also able to share bins or find alternative ways to dispose of garden waste by composting.

The charges will cover a nine-month period from March 2018 to November 2018.

Councillor Jackie Oakes, Portfolio Holder for Operations, said:

We recognise that the garden waste collection is a service that is valued by our residents however, with the ongoing cuts to our budget it is one we can no longer provide for free. We have resisted introducing these charges however, regrettably we are now in a position where this is a decision we have to take.

Items that can be put into the garden waste bin include:

• Grass cuttings
• Leaves
• Hedge clippings
• Prunings
• Twigs and small branches
• Fallen fruit and windfalls
• Flowers and plants

Items that cannot include:

• Soil or turf
• Stone or rubble
• Large branches/tree trunks
• Christmas Trees
• Pet/aminal waste
• Kitchen food/waste
• Tubs/pots/plastic bags
• Any household waste

To sign up for the scheme click here or phone 01706 217777 Option 3.