South Gloucestershire residents are being encouraged to consider their options for garden waste disposal ahead of service changes being introduced this spring.
From 31st March, South Gloucestershire Council’s green bin service moves to a subscription-only basis and residents who wish to continue to receive the service after this date can subscribe now via the council’s website.
The optional service costs £36 per year and includes fortnightly collections.
Residents who do not wish to subscribe to the service have a number of other options to dispose of their garden waste.
These include the free and environmentally-friendly option of composting, which ensures that garden waste and uncooked kitchen waste can be returned to the garden as a free soil improver.
Residents can order home compost bins at competitive rates from the council’s partner www.getcomposting.com and as part of the drive to increase composting, residents moving into new-build homes in the district will also be offered a voucher for a new free home compost bin from April 2014.
For residents who require only occasional garden waste collection, ad hoc waste collection sacks will be available from 14th March from council libraries and County Stores, High Street, Marshfield. Sacks cost £2 each and users can book a collection date via the council’s website.
Residents can also continue to dispose of garden waste free of charge at their local Sort It! centre. As part of the changes being introduced from the summer, Sort It! centres will have new traffic management measures as well as traffic cameras to allow residents to check how busy their local centre is before setting out.
The changes form part of the council’s revised waste strategy for 2013-19, which was approved by councillors in 2013 following consultation with residents.
The strategy will also see kerbside recycling extended to include mixed plastics, drinks cartons and small electrical items from 31st March.
South Gloucestershire already has one of the highest recycling rates of all unitary authorities and the changes aim to build on this success by extending the recycling service to include more types of waste.
They will also help the council to balance its income against the cost of delivering services at a time when all local authorities are receiving less money from government.
Further information on garden waste options, including online booking for the green waste service and ad hoc sack collection, are available on the council’s website at www.southglos.gov.uk/gardenwasteservice
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
Are you kidding me? it’s not April 1st already?
First you impose a compulsory sort-it system on residents, now you want us to pay extra for a service we’re already paying for in our taxes, how’s that right or even legal?
SGC you are way out of line, especially when the refuse collectors empty the separated contents of ALL bins into the same hole when the collect, so what’s the point of even splitting contents anyway?
And as far as consultation, when?? This is another arbitrary attempt at imposing changes without a mandate.
I want to see a reduction in council tax for the reduced services, NOT an increase for what should be included already.
Rip off Britain is live and well in SGC.
Certainly won’t get £36 out of me for a few buddleia cuttings – they burn a treat once dry!
You are having a laugh! Why do we pay our council tax? I think it is disgusting I totally agree with Al Davis we should get a reduction in council tax, for reduced services. What about OAP’s who cannot get to a sort it centre’s. With this charge being impossed I can see a lot more fly tipping going on!!!!
This is a joke. I didn’t have anything come through my door about any so say consultations before it was announced last year and as far as I am concerned I already pay to have my bins emptied via my council tax. I now seem to be paying for bins to be emptied that aren’t, as well as street lighting that gets turned off at night! This is another attempt at extorting money out of people. Everything is going backwards, not forwards. People will end up fly tipping, with anything that would have gone in the green bin, ending up in the black one. So much for recycling. Absolutely ridiculous! I won’t be paying.
It comes to something when I have to scan through fb to find this notification or I would not have known. Absolutely disgusting. I will be expecting a reduction in my council tax for reduced services. It was the bloody council who put these things in and we as tax oayers have paid now you are gping to take them away tax payers should get a refund. So if we don’t pay your £36 we don’t get a collection disgusting. What about the unused bins are they going to be left to litter the streets ????? Or are you going to collect them????? I am presuming it is just the big green one but I noticed a comment about food waste, so is that the little one too??? Its ok residents of Sth Gloucs will just go back to putting everything in their black bin simples!!!!!
The food waste referred to “uncooked food waste” – I take it this is cabbage leaves, sprout stalks etc. There was no inference to the small bins.
Bear this in mind – the council are also touting that you can purchase compost bins at an agreeable rate……..you’ve already got one – it’s green and has a lid!
Totally agree with all of the above !! I have compost bins in my garden and there are times when this is not enough! From February to June – and September to November the green bin needs to be collected every week… other times hardly at all. We pay enough rates as it is so we won’t be paying the £36 out of principal – topping up the Black bin sounds like a good option, topping it up just before collection day but the rest of it will get burnt. They just don’t think it through!
£36 isn’t a lot ( 5 packets of cigs or 6 pints )to have our green bin emptied for a year it’s nothing to do with Council Tax that is for everything else this has always been just a added bonus for us since all of this was forced onto us by the EU
Obviously £36 per year is not a lot for someone who can afford to pay £6 a pint!