Garden Waste Costs the Earth

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New proposals could see huge fee hike for green-fingered residents

The Council are looking at new ways of dealing with garden waste, some of which could see huge increases in the amount green-fingered residents have to pay to recycle it.

In a recent announcement H&F say they want to “encourage residents to compost their garden waste at home” and say they will provide residents with subsidised composting bins to dispose of both kitchen and garden waste.

"We currently offer subsidised home composting bins and we will decide on whether to provide free or subsidised bins following the consultation," a Council spokesperson said.

But residents are also being consulted on three different proposals to deal with any excess waste. Two of the proposals will see steep increases in the current fees for garden waste collection - something environmentalists say will discourage recycling and lead people to put their garden rubbish into black sacks.

The charge for registration in 2008 was £7.25, which included 50 biodegradable sacks. If the registration system continues next year, the registration fee will be £20 per household plus an extra £3 for just ten biodegradable sacks - an increase of at least 300%, or more, depending on how many bags you need.

Other options include having a booked service which would cost £10 per collection for up to 10 biodegradable bags or £15 for up to 20 bags. Residents would still have to pay the £3 for ten sacks.

Another alternative the Council is considering is to scrap the garden waste collection completely, in which case it would be picked up in black bags as rubbish and sent to landfill. "This would mean no extra cost to you or other residents," says a Council announcement.

The Council say that under the current registration scheme, only 5% of households in the borough have registered. “This means that 95% of residents in H&F are subsidising the 5% who use the service,” the announcement says.

However, some have complained about the difficulties of registering: “They won’t let you register if you use last year’s sacks,” said one resident earlier this year. “I can’t register because they want me to buy more. So I fill up my white sacks and put them on the pavement outside my neighbour’s house because she is registered. Then it’s picked up.”

The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Hammersmith, Merlene Emerson, says: “I believe that stopping a green waste service is not an option we can afford. I would also question the calculations put forward that 95% of the council tax payers are subsidising the 5% suggesting some degree of inequity. All householders pay council tax based on the rateable value of their property and this is clearly a stealth tax, despite claims by the Council that they are not only freezing Council tax but giving a 3% tax cut.”   

The Council say the current garden waste scheme is not environmentally friendly as collection trucks cover around 220 miles per week to pick up the waste before transporting it to a composting site in Essex.

But critics argue that if garden waste is put into black bags, the collection trucks could end up travelling even further to landfill sites and might have to make more trips, resulting in further costs and more pollution.

 

This year’s garden waste service will end on 17 December although there will be a two-week Christmas tree service from 5 January 2009.

To share your views on the garden waste proposals, you can respond online at:

www.citizenspace.com/local/lbhf or email cleaner.greener@lbhf.gov.uk.

The closing date for replies is 22 December.

 Yasmine Estaphanos

9 December 2008