Residents in Stone, and across Stafford Borough, will now need to sign up for a £36 annual charge to empty their brown bin from January 2021 as the council removes the free non-statutory service.
The brown bin collection of garden waste is not a statutory service and Stafford Borough Council is joining around 65% of local authorities across the country and charging their residents to have them collected.
Stafford Borough Council announced last year that they would need to ask residents who wanted to continue having their brown bin collected from January 2021 to contribute to the service to help balance the books.
Stone residents can sign up for the annual £36 service (per brown bin) from today to ensure they get their bins collected in the new year – www.staffordbc.gov.uk/brownbin
The scheme will work by issuing paying customers with a permit to stick to your bin to show you have paid. The information is also on the in-cab computer on the collection vehicle. Residents can team up with neighbours if they wish to share 1 bin between them.
If you don’t wish to utilise the service then the councils own advice on what to do with your brown bin states “You can keep the brown bin for use around the garden or garage. We are considering ways for unwanted brown bins to be collected but this won’t be possible in the first nine months.”
Stafford Borough Council hope that the move could see a saving to the council budget of around £900,000.
Signing up for the service will ensure households can continue to have their brown bin collected fortnightly, on the same day as their blue bin, by the council’s recycling and waste contractor, Veolia – to be taken to a composting facility.
Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Environment said:
“I have been proud of the fact this council was in the minority to the rest of the country by not charging our residents for their garden waste collection – so this has been a very difficult decision to take.
“Most people appreciate the difficulties councils find themselves in financially and by asking for an annual contribution we can ensure those who use the brown bin service can continue to receive it.”
He added: “By charging people who use this service we are able to help balance our budgets and protect other essential frontline services that our community relies on.”
All households will receive information about the change and more details about the service, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions, can be found at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/brownbin
4 comments
Mark
If I decide not sign up for the brown bin collection will the council pay me for keeping there brown bin on my property for the next 9 months until they decide to take it away ?
Or should I just push it out onto the footpath and leave it there for 9 months as it is actually there property if I’m not signing up.
J Paulus
I am all for recycling etc., but I have no alternative but to pay for brown bin services. My biggest concern is that people will not pay and use my bin instead!!
M
Much better for the environment to encourage every household to make regular trips to the recycling centre instead of just 1 vehicle doing it every fortnight.
Bill S
Another assault on the public purse…. wont pay, grass clippings can stay on the grass, black bin bags and local tip for the rest.