The cost of having your garden waste collected in Preston looks set to rise.
AdvertisementPreston City Council is proposing to increase its brown bin charge to £35-per-year during 2018.
A discounted early-bird rate of £30 is to be offered for those signing up before a set deadline.
The current charge is £30 per bin, with a discounted rate of £25 for those signing up early.
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Introduced part-way through 2016 the scheme is worth an expected £615,000 to the city council during the 2018-19 financial year.
The city council said in 2016 it was introducing the charge to help balance its books with its central government grant being reduced, and it had no statutory duty to provide the service.
Anyone losing their brown bin sticker, which indicates you have paid, is also to be levied with a £5 admin charge to cover replacing it. At present this is a free service.
The city council says since 2016 the cost of running the scheme has increased due to staff salary rises and vehicle running costs.
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Officers also write ‘there is also an occasional requirement for some overtime payments to be made during the peak summer period, to ensure rounds are collected’.
Cabinet member for the environment councillor Robert Boswell has signed off the proposal, which provided no other councils object to it, will be approved from Thursday 23 November.
Proposals for the charge also outline that a £5 charge for Christmas trees being collected after Christmas is to be frozen at £5 for 2018.
What do you think of the brown bin charge going up? Do you use the scheme? Let us know in the comments below