![a green waste garden bin in front of a green bush](/sites/default/files/2024-08/green%20bin.jpeg)
- Garden waste subscription to go up for the first time in seven years (since introduced January 2018)
- Increase of £5 to £41 for 23 fortnightly collections
- Increase due to rising service costs
On Thursday 29 August, Tamworth Borough Council’s Cabinet agreed to increase the garden waste service subscription cost to £41 a year for 23 fortnightly green waste collections.
This is the first price increase for Tamworth residents since the charge was introduced in January 2018.
Due to rising fuel costs, vehicle use and maintenance costs, and recycling fee increases, the overall cost of the garden waste collection service has been increasing for a number of years. Like councils across the country, Tamworth Borough Council has pressures on the budget and can no longer subsidise the costs of the garden waste service.
However, at just £1.78 per collection, the garden waste service remains excellent value for money.
Councillor David Foster, portfolio holder for environmental sustainability, waste and recycling said:
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who subscribes to our garden waste service as all the waste we collect is composted and used on local farms.
“The subscription price of the green waste service hasn’t changed in seven years, but recently we’ve seen a real increase in costs, and we cannot subsidise these in the long term without significant impact on our ability to deliver services vulnerable residents.
“We still believe the garden waste service is great value for money and saves our customers trips to the Household Waste Recycling Centre, offering 23 fortnightly collections a year, which works out at £1.78 for each collection. If you don’t have enough waste to fill a bin why not share with a neighbour, with one resident subscribing and then share the cost or home compost which is a great alternative that is low-cost and good for the garden.”
The service saves residents from having to take their garden waste to the household waste recycling centre themselves or pay for it to be removed privately. It’s also good for the environment as all the collected garden waste goes an outdoor composting facility (Greener Composting, Wall) and is used on local farms.
The service provides up to 23 fortnightly collections a year. The new charge will be for new subscriptions for 2025. The charge is £41 regardless of when subscription starts but by signing up before the end of January residents will benefit from the maximum number of collections.