Green bins warning after subscriber-numbers dip
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter
Garden waste bin users in Powys need to subscribe to the service or they could see their green bins taken away, after it was revealed that some have continued to use the service this year for free.
It has been revealed that everyone who subscribed last year has been having their bins emptied this year whether they have paid up or not, but all that is set to change this month, according to Powys County Council.
The fortnightly garden waste collections for grass and garden cuttings started up again in March following its annual hiatus over the winter months. This year the charge for the service has gone up by £2 but so far there is a lower take up than last year.
Subscribers now have to pay £37 a year for a 240 litre wheelie bin or £32 for a 120 litre for the service on top of paying their Council Tax bills.
The details have been made public following a “question at anytime” put to the head of highways, transport and recyling, Matt Perry by Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe.
Cllr Ratcliffe, said: “As we enter our third year of garden waste collection, I have a few questions around this service. Overall, it seems to be doing well but I would welcome some data to understand if it’s working well.”
Mr Perry answered: “No removals have yet taken place. We collect from all of the previous year’s subscribers for the first few collection cycles of a new season, even if they have yet to resubscribe, so as to encourage the continued use of the service.
“We will then notify the customers who have yet to pay in April, indicating that if they do not renew we will begin to remove bins.”
During 2018/19, £225,000 was used to buy 10,800 wheelie bins of 240 litres as well as 3,000 smaller 120-litre bins. Last year a further 2,340 green bins, which each hold 240 litres, were bought at a cost of just under £35,000.
Seen as controversial when it started in April 2019, Garden Waste Banks at 35 community recycling sites in the Powys were closed.
One of the factors behind the decision, claimed PCC, is that the waste banks were being abused by fly-tippers and commercial gardeners.
Mr Perry added: “It is important to note that whilst we are working to make the service cost neutral to the authority, savings have been made due to the removal of the garden waste banks for which no income was received along with the regular need to deal with the contamination.”
The number of subscribers is less than 2020, but the figures are not complete yet, and are up to March 29.
How many people signed up to the scheme each year?
2019 – 8,969
2020 – 11,639
2021 – 10,974
Subscription renewal figures :
2020 – 8,431
2021 – 9,698
Annual Costs
2019 – £182,270
2020 – £96,146 (not confirmed yet).
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