Home Local News Thousands ready for garden waste switch

Thousands ready for garden waste switch

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Over 18,000 households across St Helens have signed up to the new garden waste collection service, for which a small charge was introduced today (Monday 5 June).

Residents should subscribe as soon as possible to the garden waste collection service to ensure their garden waste collections continue over the summer.

The change comes as the council looks to make savings of £7.4m for the 2017/18 financial year. Almost half of all councils in the UK now charge for the non-statutory green waste collection, which is not covered by Council Tax.

The charge of £30 (£1.50 per collection) if done online – or £35 a year (£1.75 per collection) with a credit or debit card over the phone – will apply to registered residents for the fortnightly collection of garden waste, which currently costs the council £931,000 per year in operational costs.

Residents who subscribe will be provided with a permit sticker to attach to their green bin, and will be required to renew their subscription annually.

Residents should take care when filling out the online form, as incorrectly entered information – such as house number – can cause delays.

Common questions the council has received about the scheme:

Q. Can I share a bin with a neighbour?
A. Yes. It’s a good way of lowering the cost to yourself, particularly if you only have a small garden and not much green waste. The bin will be charged to one household and must be collected from that property.

Q. Will the council collect my unwanted green bin if I don’t subscribe?
A. Yes – please contact the Contact Centre towards the end of November 2017 to arrange for your green bin collected over the winter break. Until then they can be used as storage or as an eco-friendly water butt, storing water for your garden.

Q. My house has not previously been covered by garden waste collection routes, will it be covered now?
A. Yes, under the new charged scheme, the council will collect from residences not previously covered.

For more information and answers to many more questions about the garden waste service, visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/gardenwaste

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