Scheme to charge for garden waste collection

A push to increase household recycling levels is expected to be given the nod at a Royal Borough meeting on Thursday.

The council's cabinet is set to approve the addition to the current kerbside recycling scheme by collecting garden waste - if residents are happy to pay the £29 annual subscription.

The fortnightly green service would be for grass clippings and other garden waste.

The council said the scheme is being considered not only make gardeners’ lives easier but to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and the borough’s impact on climate change by reducing carbon emissions.

People who sign up would be provided with a 240-litre green waste recycling bin that would be emptied by Veolia, the council’s contractor, every two weeks.

Cabinet member Cllr Alison Knight said: "With more and more residents keen to play an active part in helping to cut the huge volume of waste we send to landfill every year, this service will be a great bonus."

She stressed the new service would not affect the council’s normal weekly refuse collection - it would be an extra option.