New charge for garden waste to be reviewed

Half the households in Shropshire have paid to have their garden waste collected

A garden waste charge will be reviewed by the new Lib Dem administration at Shropshire Council.

Since the fee was introduced last autumn more than half the households in the council area have paid £56 to continue having their green bins emptied.

The charge was brought in by the previous Conservative administration to generate income and it has so far raised £4.3m.

But Heather Kid, the leader of the Lib Dem group which swept the Conservatives from power last week, said she wanted to look again at the way waste is collected.

Kidd, the leader elect, said her party was "committed to reviewing the way that waste services are delivered, including looking at alternative models of operation for garden waste".

That would include looking at how it can collect food waste from 2026, when it becomes mandatory for councils to do this, she said.

"We know that finances are tight, we feel there are other options we want to explore as part of a review," she added.

The people who had voted for new leadership at Shropshire Council in last weeks local elections were "rightly expecting change", she added.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.