Consultation on proposal to charge for household garden waste collections

You can find out more about the consultation here

We asked

We asked residents to give us their views on the introduction of a charge for the garden waste collection service. We asked for views on:

• respondents’ level of use of the current service
• the principle of introducing charges to those that wish to continue to use this service
• the level of any charge to be introduced
• whether or not respondents would use the service if a charge was introduced, and what alternative arrangement they might make if not
• whether respondents would be able to sign up to a chargeable service online.

You said

A total of 6,517 responses were received. Just over three quarters of respondents disagreed that introducing a charge for only those who use the service was fair. Four fifths of respondents opposed the introduction of an annual subscription. Of those that responded, almost a third of respondents (28.5%) said they would prefer to see an increase in Council Tax rather than a charge introduced.

37.4% of respondents who said they currently use the service would continue to use it if a charge was introduced, and this is a relatively positive level of response compared with the take up rates seen in other London boroughs.

The majority of respondents who said they would consider using a chargeable service would be able to sign up online.

We did

The Environment Committee agreed the introduction of charges at its meeting on 20 January 2020. The council launched the chargeable service from 9 May 2020, allowing residents to sign up online and by phone from mid-February, with a charge of £70 for the first bin, and £50 for each additional bin to be collected.

The first year of the garden waste service saw 40,028 stickers paid for. 38,477 households signed up during the first year of the service giving a take up rate of 56%.

The income generated through the introduction of charges has supported other council services, including an investment of £600,000 into the street cleansing service, which the council recognises is a high priority for residents.

You can read more about the Environment Committee meeting and the full consultation results here.