Opt-in £40 brown bin collection charge from April

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said it had tried to keep the charge as low as possible

A £40 annual charge for garden waste collection in Stoke-on-Trent is set to start on 1 April.

Residents would have to opt-in to the subscription service to continue to have their brown bin emptied from that date, stated Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The new charge was approved as part of the authority's budget, which also included a 4.99% increase in council tax.

The authority said it was not legally obliged to collect garden waste free of charge, and about 70% of councils charged for the service.

“Not everyone needs or uses the garden waste service," said councillor Amjid Wazir, who added that making it self-funded enabled the authority to provide it for those who did.

The annual charge of £40 could be split with neighbours to lower the cost, the councillor suggested, recognising that some residents were "suffering considerable financial challenges".

Under plans, all households were to get a one-off garden waste collection before the subscription period started on Monday 1 April.

That would allow people to easily dispose of waste currently in their brown bin, and give them more time to consider whether they wanted to pay for the service, the council stated.