Bolton bin anger as thousands object to planned waste collection fee

The Labour controlled authority say the new charge would apply to households that "opt in" to have their "green bin" garden waste collected, a service which is currently free.

The third of Bolton households that do not have a garden, and instead put their food waste in a 23-litre caddy, would not be affected.

The proposed annual fee of £45 would cover 25 collections through the year, the equivalent of £1.80 per collection.

The scheme would only apply to garden waste, meaning that green bins could still be used for food waste.

Collections of food waste in green bins and caddies would continue as normal without charge, and collection days would also remain the same.

Since a public consultation went live earlier this week it is understood that the proposal has received thousands of representations with the vast majority of responses opposed to the introduction of charges.

Bolton’s Conservative group has branded the plans a "garden tax" and said the charge will not be "fair or reasonable".

In contrast, the council says it does not have a statutory responsibility to provide free collection of garden material and their waste and recycling service needs to save £1m which the proposal would achieve.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited Lostock to ask householders what they thought of the charging plan:

Margaret Stevens, 74, of Barford Grove, said she regularly fills her green bin with garden waste, especially in the summer months.

She said: “Council tax for properties like these are more than £2,000 per year and go up as much as the council is allowed to every year.

“I would have thought they would want to maintain their services.

“If they need to to generate more money through this I wouldn’t mind so much if it I knew it was going to be used in a useful way for the population of Bolton, to maintain and improve children’s services for example.”

Margaret Stevens fills her green garden waste bin before most collections

Margaret French, 68, said: “When I heard about this I said I’d bag all my garden rubbish up and take it to the tip.

“Don’t I pay for this in my council tax, linked with the rateable value of my property?

“The other side of the coin is that there are lots of people in terraced houses who don’t have gardens, but that should be represented in the rateable value.

"Also most houses have vegetable and dog waste which goes in the green bin too.

“A friend of mine said he’d bag his grass up and put it in grey bin. What is stopping people doing that?

“Maybe I should just have all my grass tarmacked?”

Warren Hammond, 86, has lived on Purbeck Drive for the past 40 years.

He said: “Gardening is one of my pleasures and I get rid of the waste through the green bin.

“It seems to be one extra charge after another for pensioners at the moment with this coming just after the winter fuel payment being stopped.

“I try to follow the rules on the different bins and then they change it.

“I think a lot of folk will just put their grass cuttings in with the general rubbish.”

Warren Hammond said the charge would be another blow for pensioners after the winter fuel allowance cut

One of Warren’s neighbours, a man in his 60s who did not wish to be named, said: “It doesn’t add up to me.

“If food waste collections are continuing from the green bin, then they will surely be doing the same amount of collections.

“I can’t see how these changes will generate the savings they are saying.”

Donald Flynn, 67, of St Leonard’s Avenue, said: “The tax generation to pay for services like this are reflected in the different bands of council tax.

“Generally homes with gardens will be in a higher council tax band than ones without.

“What concerns me is that far more people will choose to burn garden waste to avoid the charges.

“That would affect air pollution and damage the environment.”

Donald Flynn, from Lostock

Speaking earlier in the week, the council’s executive member for climate change and the environment, Cllr Richard Silvester, said: “We don’t make any proposals around bin collections and charging for services without extremely careful consideration.

“Currently, more than 80,000 households have free collections of garden waste and anyone who pays council tax helps to fund these collections, regardless of whether they have a garden or not.

“This proposal would mean that those who choose to use the service would contribute directly towards the cost of providing it.

“At a time when council budgets are under severe strain, we must find ways to protect vital services, and therefore we need to consider every option.

“I would urge everyone to take part in the consultation, whether they have a garden or not, and have their say.”

The consultation is available on the council website until Monday, November 4.