Council leaders have refused to rule out hiking garden waste collection fees by 150 per cent from £30 to £75 for South Gloucestershire residents. A political row broke out after the authority’s new Lib Dem/ Labour coalition insisted it would “not prejudge” public consultation being launched this summer by making such a promise and that the former Tory administration routinely made decisions even before asking the public for feedback, which it then ignored.
At a meeting on Monday, June 19, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet, comprising five Liberal Democrats and four Labour members, approved the general idea for how the current 25-year waste contract with Suez will be replaced when it expires in July 2025. It includes potential huge increases in charges for garden waste, a new £25 fee for replacement bins and reductions in black bin collections to every three or even four weeks.
The council says the measures are necessary because, even having chosen the cheapest option – outsourcing kerbside collections to a private operator while bringing recycling centres and other work back in-house – it faces a £4.7million annual funding shortfall for the service. Conservative shadow member for education, skills, employment and business Cllr Erica Williams told the meeting: “While I appreciate that nothing has been decided yet and that the revenue-raising proposals in the report are merely suggestions at this stage, it’s nonetheless alarming to see the garden waste collection charge could be raised to as much as £75.
