Members of the District Council’s Full Council yesterday (July 19) ratified a recommendation from their Cabinet to bring in charges from April 2017 to help meet the council’s £1miliion saving target.
It also brings the council in line with most of it counterparts – five of the seven authorities in North Yorkshire already charge. Charges – which will be on an annual voluntary subscription – will be set in September.
The council introduced a free garden waste collection service 12 years ago as part of a national government drive to boost recycling rates. Since then compulsory targets have been removed – and there is increased pressure on local authority budgets to sustain core services. It has led to a trend across the country to charge for green waste collections – a non-mandatory service.