Letters being sent out ahead of introduction of new cost for green bin collection

Households across Wrexham will soon have to pay £25 per green bin to ensure their garden waste is collected by the local authority.

The new charges, which come into effect on April 1st, were announced as part of a series of budget changes being carried out by Wrexham Council last summer.

Currently residents can have one green bin collected at no charge. Households with additional green bins currently pay £30.60 for extra green bins to be emptied. From April all green bins will be charged £25 to be emptied.

Under the new changes all households who want their garden waste collected will have to pay an annual charge of £25. Those who already pay to have any additional green bins emptied, will also be charged £25 to continue having those collected.

Speaking last year Lead Member for Environment and Transport, Cllr David A Bithell, said the decision was made in order to continue delivering the service and to “protect other key frontline services”.

He continued: “Residents have been hugely supportive of our recycling drives since 2003 and we know this may seem like a backward step.

“Charges for green bins were not something we wished to introduce and this council’s commitment was to introduce the lowest possible charge we could at £25 per green bin, which is one of the lowest in England and Wales.

“Introducing a charge for green waste is in line with the Welsh Govenment’s Blue Print on Waste and the last few years our environmental grant which supports recycling initiatives has continued to be reduced year on year, although our 70% target remains

Last year Wrexham Council say the decision to introduce a £25 fee per year wasn’t “taken lightly”, but due to ongoing cuts to local government and attempts to generate revenue, the local authority was left with “no choice but to join other councils in charging for this discretionary service.”

If you decide that you no longer require your garden waste bin you can ask for it to be removed – however if you change your mind in the future you will need to purchase a new garden waste bin as well as paying to have it emptied.

Darren Williams, chief officer environment and technical, said: “We hope that the majority of you will continue to use the service to help Wrexham achieve the Welsh Government’s statutory recycling, composting and reuse target of 70% by 2024/2025.”

If you wish to continue having your garden waste bin(s) collected can pay online at www.wrexham.gov.uk/gardenwaste. Payment can also be made by calling 01978 298989/Text relay: 18001 01978 298989. You can pay for this service from Monday 17th February 2020.

The charge is £25 per garden waste bin for 2020/2021.