Proposed £30 green bin charge scrapped as budget changes made public

A £30 green bin charge for everyone who has one in Wrexham has been scrapped by councillors incharge of Wrexham Council, who appear to have noted strong public feedback on the idea.

Plans were in place to introduce an annual charge of £30 to everyone (who uses one) to have their green / garden waste bins collected, on top of a similar charge already in place for households who own more than one green bin. This plan has now been scrapped over the new year, as budget documents have been made public today.

We asked Wrexham Council why the roundly rubbished charge had been binned, with indications public feedback being pointed to as a reason.

Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council, told: “After a political discussion between alliance parties regarding the proposal to charge £30 per green bin – which was put forward in the recent Difficult Decisions consultation – the administration has decided not to proceed with the proposal.

“I’d like to thank members of the public who took part in the consultation for making their views known to us on this matter, and would also like to thank staff who were involved in the consultation process.”

The green bin charge was meant to raise a huge £590,000 for the council’s environment department, with no details yet on how that gap will be plugged, or if it is needed to be plugged.

The report before councillors also notes the ‘Senior Management Restructure’ was due to save £130,000 and is now due to save £155,000 – but with no further detail.