Green Bin Letters Sent to 16,000 Households in Reading
LETTERS are being sent out to more than 16,000 households this week advising them of new charges for garden waste collections, which come into effect from April 2017.
Unlike many neighbouring areas, households in Reading have their garden waste collected for free from their doorstep since the collections first began more than 10 years ago. Sustained cuts in Government funding and increased demands on services mean the Council is under unprecedented financial pressure.
It currently costs the Council £300,000 a year to subsidise a free doorstep garden waste collection service for more than 16,000 residents. Unfortunately the Council can no longer afford to provide the service for free and it announced in September that charges would be introduced.
The new charges are just one of a number of difficult decisions the Council is having to make as it tackles a £42 million funding gap to 2020. £65 million of savings have already been made by the Council since 2011.
The letter to residents includes a short Q and A on how the new scheme will work. The new charge is £50 a year for households with a green bin, and £15 a year for households with a green bag. People on low incomes may qualify for a 25% discount.
There are approximately 1,200 households in Reading who have a second green bin or bag. Following public feedback received, the Council will collect second green bins / bags free of charge. Only a maximum of two bins or bags per property will be collected.
The Council will write to all households again early in the new year with details of how to opt into the new garden waste collection scheme and how to pay the annual charge. Residents who pay will be sent a coloured sticker for their bin/s – or a tag for their bag/s – which tell crews to collect from that property. Only bins and bags with the correct stickers or tags will be collected from April 2017.
Councillor Liz Terry, Lead Member for Neighbourhoods at Reading Borough Council, said:
“As we have previously said, the unprecedented cuts in Government funding we are facing means we can no longer afford to subsidise a free service in Reading. We know that many of local authorities have charged for garden waste collections for a number of years now. The financial pressure the Council is under means we now need to do the same.
“Since announcing the new charge earlier this year, some of the public feedback received has been about additional charges for households who have second bins or bags. We are of course keen to encourage the recycling of garden waste and we have taken that feedback on board, which is why there will be no additional charge for the 1,200 households in Reading who have second bins or bags.
“There are very few households in Reading with more than two bins or bags. The two bin/bag limit helps to keep administration costs low and means crews can keep to tight collection schedules.”
Neighbouring Wokingham Borough Council already charges £60 a year for garden waste collections, Bracknell Forest Council £40 a year and Oxford City Council £46 per year.
