Reading council reverses green bin charge

A Berkshire council has agreed to reverse a decision by a previous administration to charge for garden waste collections.

Reading Borough Council had voted to introduce a £22.50 annual charge for the service while it was led by a Conservative - Lib Dem coalition.

The new Labour minority council has now voted to scrap the charge.

Residents who paid the charges in advance will be reimbursed, the authority said.

The council had frozen bills before they were sent to the 17,000 affected households.

'All to see'

The review was part of the Labour group's pledge ahead of May's council elections.

Before the charge was introduced, people living in Reading only made a one-off payment of £10 for a green bag or a one-off payment of £32.50 for a green bin.

Environment councillor Paul Gittings said: "It was clear from public reaction that people were unhappy about the charges.

"The environmental benefits of free garden waste collections are there for all to see.

"We promised to review the decision. We have now done that and I'm pleased to be able to now reinstate a free garden waste collection service for residents in Reading."