Garden rubbish fees considered in Shropshire waste revamp

Shropshire Council said household waste was costing it more than £33.5m per year

Plans have been put forward to reduce waste in Shropshire where people have left out nearly the most amount of rubbish for collection in England.

In 2020/21 the average resident generated 535kg, the second largest figure among authorities, and 138kg above average, Shropshire Council said.

Initiatives may include community composting and community food growing.

Charges for garden waste collections could also be introduced by the council.

In a report, the authority said waste from households was costing it more than £33.5m annually to collect and dispose of, equating to 6% of the council's entire budget.

Recruiting two officers to bring in a strategy could come from existing budgets, the authority stated.

Initiatives would be researched and developed where appropriate, including free compost bins, substitution of toiletries and cleaning products for home-made versions, workshops and promotion of alternatives to single-use plastics.

The report, for the place overview committee on Thursday, said developing and implementing a waste minimisation strategy would reduce the council's waste management.

The authority said it was recognised any such proposal for garden waste charges would "impact on households".

It stated a majority of authorities had introduced the charges which had seen a fall in overall garden waste being collected in those areas.