'Substandard' stickers delay garden waste scheme

More than 49,000 people had signed up to the scheme by the end of September

Collections for a new garden waste subscription scheme have been put back a month due to new stickers being "substandard", a council says.

Shropshire Council was due to bring in the new service, costing residents £56 a year, from the start of October.

Those who paid were sent tamper-proof labels for their bins but several residents took to social media to claim the ones they received were already peeling off.

Council leader Lezley Picton admitted the stickers were not good enough and said the new service would be delayed while new ones were produced.

The paid service will now begin on the 4 November and run until October 2025.

More than 49,000 people had signed up by the end of September.

The contract with the firm who produced the stickers had been cancelled as they were "absolutely not to the required and requested specification" and the council would "not be paying for a substandard product", Ms Picton said in a post on Facebook.

"We have now sourced a new provider who will be able to produce stickers to the correct specification," she added.

"I do apologise for this, I know there have been problems for some subscribing and this sticker issue is very disappointing, however the staff have been trying their best to resolve matters so please do not abuse them."

She advised those who have already received a sticker that they would get a new one in the coming weeks and not to put them on their bins in the meantime.

The decision to charge £56 for the service was met with anger from many residents and a petition signed by more than 1,800 people was handed in in September.