North East Lincolnshire to charge for more than one brown bin

Plans to charge householders £25 for the collection of two or more brown garden bins have been approved by North East Lincolnshire Council.

The fee is part of a package of waste management measures aimed at saving the authority £2.5m over four years.

The decision was voted through at a meeting of the council's cabinet.

The original proposals to charge £25 for garden waste collections were put on hold by the council last year following strong opposition.

At the time, councillor Keith Brookes said the move would discourage recycling.

The council said it needed to consider different money saving options.

The collection of one brown bin per household will remain free of charge.

Leader of the council, Chris Shaw, said: "Making recycling compulsory for some areas in North East Lincolnshire is a sensible proposal.

"Many residents have easy access to full recycling facilities and if they fail to recycle then the council will be able to make use of legal principles set out in the Environmental Protection Act.

"However, we are still looking at a fifty per cent shortfall in total savings needed to be made. We will need to find ways of filling this gap as the money still has to be saved."