Garden waste deadline nears as new £60 bin charge begins
Residents in Westmorland and Furness have only days left to sign up for the council’s new paid garden waste service.
The grace period ends on Sunday, June 28th.
From Monday, June 29th, crews will only empty garden waste bins that display a valid subscription sticker.
The new service costs £60 per bin each year.
More than 26,000 households have already signed up. However, anyone who still wants the council to collect their garden waste must join the scheme.
What are the new garden waste rules?
Westmorland and Furness Council launched its new garden waste service on April 1.
Before the change, households received collections without paying a separate yearly charge.
Residents must now buy a subscription for each garden waste bin they want the council to empty.
The annual fee is £60 for each bin.
A household with two garden waste bins would therefore need two subscriptions.
The council sends a sticker after it receives payment. Residents must place this sticker on the bin so collection crews can see it.
From June 29, bins without a valid sticker will not be emptied.
When is the deadline?
The deadline to join during the grace period is Sunday, June 28.
The council has continued to empty garden waste bins as normal since April. This gave residents almost three months to decide whether to join.
That period will end after Sunday.
Residents who have not subscribed by June 29 should not expect their garden waste bin to be collected.
The council says people can still subscribe after the deadline. However, they may miss collections while they wait for their account and sticker to be processed.
More than 26,000 households sign up
The council said 26,432 households had joined the service by June 22.
Those homes had bought 30,649 subscriptions in total.
The higher number of subscriptions shows that some households have paid for more than one bin.
The number of sign-ups has risen quickly. Around 10,600 households had joined by May 8, while the total had reached about 17,800 by May 27.
What happens if you do not subscribe?
Residents do not have to join the service.
People who do not want a garden waste collection do not need to contact the council.
However, the council will stop emptying their garden waste bins once the grace period ends.
Other household collections will continue as normal.
The changes do not affect general rubbish or recycling bins.
People who do not subscribe can take garden waste to a household waste recycling centre.
They can also compost suitable waste at home.
What can go in the garden waste bin?
Garden waste bins can be used for items such as:
- Grass cuttings
- Leaves
- Plants and weeds
- Hedge trimmings
- Small branches
- Flowers
Residents should not use them for general rubbish, food waste, plastic bags, soil, rubble or large pieces of wood.
Bins that contain the wrong items may not be emptied.
Extra bins and new customers
People signing up for the first time who do not already own a garden waste bin can receive their first bin without a separate purchase fee.
Extra bins cost a one-off fee of £25 each.
Each bin still needs its own £60 annual subscription.
Collections will run every two weeks for most of the year.
The service pauses during December, January and February, when households tend to produce less garden waste.
Different rules in Cumberland
The change does not cover the whole of Cumbria.
Cumberland Council continues to collect one garden waste bin from homes between March and November without the same £60 subscription.
Residents in Cumberland only pay for extra garden waste bins. These cost £42 each per year.
People should check which council area they live in before paying or putting their bin out.
