Highland Council puts up price of brown bin scheme and says income is critical to protecting jobs
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Highland Council is increasing the charge for emptying brown bins by £5.
It will cost people £45 per bin for the 2020/21 period of optional fortnightly service.
The council collected garden waste for free prior to 2017 when a £30 per brown bin charge was introduced.
The price of using the service has risen by £5 each year since.
A council spokeswoman said: "The charge for the collection of garden waste was originally agreed as part of the three-year budget settlement in February 2019. The council budget is very uncertain for this current year due to the impact from the Covid-19 emergency.
"The income from the sale of garden waste permits is critical in helping to fund the cost of the service, protect jobs and reduce the need for cuts while continuing to provide a service that Highland households value at this pivotal time."
Councillor Alasdair Christie, chairman of the council’s recovery board, said: “We recognise that this service is popular and valued by customers. By continuing to use the service, residents will be doing their bit for the environment as well as helping the council to reduce costs from landfilling waste, which combined will make a valuable contribution to the council’s journey to recovery.”
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the council’s communities and place committee, said: “Last year approximately 28,000 garden waste permits were purchased in Highland and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank householders for their support.
"An incredible 9000 tonnes of garden waste was collected from customers' brown bins in 2019/20 which was then composted into a soil conditioner for agricultural use or land improvement.
“With many of us now spending more time our gardens we have seen an increase in demand from new customers wishing to use the garden waste collection service. New customers may now purchase permits and are advised to visit our website www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste to check they live in a brown bin collection area.
"The fortnightly collection service is easy and convenient to use and accepts a wide range of garden material including grass cuttings, leaves, hedge clippings, weeds, flower, plants and small branches.”
Due to the pandemic, the service was suspended in March meaning customers missed up to four collections prior to it restarting. The council spokeswoman said: "To compensate customers for these missed collections the council has extended the 2019/20 permit season by nine weeks, taking it to the end of August 2020."
The 2020/21 garden waste permit season will start on September 1 and will run to August 31. Customers are being encouraged to order their permits by August 2 to ensure delivery in time for the first collections of the new service year.
Permits for brown bin collections in 2020/21 are on sale now. A maximum of three permits are allowed per household.
People can take garden waste to their local recycling centre free of charge.
Related article: Highland Council brown bin scheme making less money after rise in charges
