Vocal Voices

Just seen on another forum that some councils are now charging for emptying bins which are provided for garden waste. Will be interesting to see if every council starts doing this. Also heard on a local radio programme that social services is the only operation which has to be provided by a local council. This information was given by a councillor who was being interviewed.He didn't reply to the question why the number of councillors should be reduced and their allowances.

When I moved to where I live now in 2007 I, on an annual basis, would buy two large sacks for £15 that were used to collect garden waste and they were collected every 2nd week. This year Guildford council changed it to a brown wheely bin that you pay £20 a year for (it takes loads more than the 2 sacks); still collected for free every 2nd week.

I don't mind paying the one off fee, but it would be rather annoying if they charged a collection fee on top of that annual fee

We pay £30 odd for ours, and have done for several years! It is a green wheelie bin that is collected fortnightly, turn and turn about with the 'normal' waste bin! It doesn't half annoy me!

Ours is free at the moment but wasn't introduced all that long ago.

No doubt it will be charged for sooner or later.

Birmingham Council have starting charging for green wheelie bins this year (2014). The annual cost is a basic £35. Previously it was a free, fortnightly sack collection.

We haven't taken up the green bin service, (and I suspect not a lot of our neighbours have either, but I won't know until they restart making collections after the usual winter break), because we don't generate that much green waste, TBH. We'll just use black sacks for grass cuttings etc. and take them down to the local neighbourhood recycling centre where we can still dump it for free.

Kaz wrote:We pay £30 odd for ours, and have done for several years! It is a green wheelie bin that is collected fortnightly, turn and turn about with the 'normal' waste bin! It doesn't half annoy me!

Maybe I'm being a bit daft and apologies if I am, but why does it annoy you? I think it's fantastic service and saves me having to take my garden waste to the tip myself; which I'd only be able to do on a weekend and then it's a super long queue? And given it's a service I am choosing to make use of then I'm quite happy to pay for it. If you think about it it's not a lot of money for a whole year?

We have free collection of garden waste every fortnight.

Same here Rodo.

Oh.... I don't think I've ever had free garden waste collection; hmmm

The waste collection service here in South Ribble is nothing short of superb. One week we have grey bins, which is general waste. The alternate week is garden waste bin, blue bin for glass, metal and plastics, and paper/cardboard box. There is never any nonsense about lids not being fully shut or anything like that. We feel really blessed!