South Staffordshire residents given deadline to sign up for paid-for garden bin collections
Residents in South Staffordshire have less than two months to sign up to new paid-for garden waste collections.
It was announced earlier this year that free garden waste collections were to be axed for households in the district from June 29.
People must sign up if they want to be part of the new service, which costs £43.60 per green bin per year, otherwise their garden waste will not be collected. All garden waste will continue to be collected for free until June 29.
Residents can sign up now online at sstaffs.gov.uk/gardenwaste or from Monday, May 18 by calling 01902 696000.
South Staffordshire District Council bosses defended the move to scrap free collections earlier this year, saying the decision had been taken due to financial pressures.
Councillor Len Bates, cabinet member for community services, said: "“The introduction of an annual charge for green waste collections is vital to ensure the continuation of the Council being able to provide our residents with an easy and convenient way of disposing of garden waste.
“Having reviewed our service carefully, we find that we cannot continue to offer the garden waste collection service without a fee.
"Not everyone uses this service and the reduction in government funding and current financial pressures means that we have had to push through on this difficult decision to enable us to resource this service for those residents who wish to use it.
“It’s been a difficult decision and one that was made by our members at the beginning of the year. However, the annual fee of £43.60 - less than 85p per week - has been calculated to reflect the anticipated cost of the opt-in service and we believe that it still represents great value for money for our residents.
"We remain as the fourth lowest council tax for district councils in England and remain committed to keeping costs to a minimum.
“We hope that the introduction of this charge will not prove to be a barrier to recycling. Residents can also dispose of their domestic garden waste free of charge at the local Household Recycling Centres run by Staffordshire County Council when they re-open with social distancing measures, or through home composting."
