Highland Council brown bin scheme making less money after rise in charges
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Figures suggest the Highlands' brown bin scheme is making less money this year, despite charging people more for the service.
Figures obtained by the Courier via a freedom of information request, show that the £5 price rise to £40 per brown bin for collections of garden waste has increased income, although more than 2000 permits for the scheme were not renewed.
The service is on course to make a profit of £485,091 this financial year – but that is £12,315 less than the previous year when people were charged £35 per brown bin.
The local authority has defended the scheme but could not say whether the fee for the opt-in service will rise again in 2020.
“The proposal to charge for the use of the brown bin service was put forward as an alternative to removing the service altogether, which was done by Scottish Borders Council, but was considered as unacceptable by our members at the time,” a council spokesman said.
“Providing the service is not compulsory, but does make a significant contribution to our recycling performance.”
The council collected garden waste for free prior to 2017 when a £30 per brown bin charge was introduced.
According to the council, it brought in £816,934 from 32,388 permits in its first year and spent £28,703 on posting stickers to residents to put on their bins to show they had paid. No staff, fuel or vehicle costs were recorded for 2017/18.
When the cost increased to £35, income rose to £1,194,946 while the number of permits dropped to 32,236 and posting stickers costs fell to £26,898. Staff costs were £377,515, vehicle costs were £217,597 and £75,530 was estimated to be spent on fuel.
Up to mid-November of the current financial year, with fees at £40, income increased to £1,200,214 while permit sales dropped to 30,037 and posting stickers costs dipped to £25,759. But staff costs increased to £388,735, vehicle costs rose to £223,558 and £77,071 was spent on fuel.
Allan Henderson, chairman of the council’s communities and place committee, said: “We need to take a holistic view of municipal waste, of which the garden waste brown bin is a large part.
“Municipal waste is a statutory service and comes at a cost to the council which in turn is aided by the block grant from the Scottish Government. Municipal waste attracts a landfill charge of approximately £100 per ton so the more that is diverted, the less the tax the council pays.
“By establishing the brown bin service, large quantities are therefore diverted from landfill. It is only commercially expedient in the large conurbations due to the extra cost of mobilising the service.
“The council gets an annual fee for the brown bin service. It is optional but very well received by gardeners, and saves landfill tax. The material collected is now a commodity which is treated and mulched before going to cover/restore ugly landfill sites, or spread across land – so everyone is a winner.
“We get constant requests from the more rural areas to provide this service and will in time try to extend out from the urban areas.
“Initially, some avid gardeners requested extra brown bins, but as composting has become more of a habit they have returned them, hence the drop.
“So from my, and the council’s, perspective, it’s a very worthwhile service that satisfies government, contributes to the climate change emergency by diverting waste and provides for our service users a well-received service.”
Harry Fone, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Residents fork out thousands every year in council tax so they might be perturbed to be charged extra for basic services.
“If charging is used, then it certainly shouldn’t be dialled up even further, as taxpayers will suspect that they are simply being used to plug gaps in the council’s finances. Instead of stealth taxes, councils should work that bit harder to make savings elsewhere.”
n Highland Council will be introducing changes at household waste recycling centres next month in a bid to save money. New restrictions to the types of vehicles allowed to use the facilities may impact people who use these centres for their garden waste.
