North Somerset Council has made the difficult decision to introduce an annual charge of £50 per bin for garden waste collections from 1 April 2021.

I have thought long and hard about the charge, but in the end I think it is the right thing to do – even if it proves unpopular with some residents.

Council finances are under a great deal of pressure and garden waste is not a statutory service. To protect essential services, we need to introduce an annual charge to cover the costs of the garden waste service and make it self-financing.   

All our neighbouring authorities already have this charge in place, as do two-thirds of councils in England, some of which charge up to £100 to collect green waste.

Home composting is the cheapest and most environmentally- friendly way to deal with garden waste. To support residents we have discounted compost bins for sale for just £10, free online courses and lots of information on our website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/composting  

This is an optional charge: anyone who chooses not to pay for garden waste collections can either home compost or take their garden waste to a household waste recycling centre.  

The income from charging for garden waste will make the service self-financing and free-up resources to protect essential services including care and support for the most vulnerable people in our community.

Anyone who signs up for the new service by Sunday 28 March will receive a 10% discount off the cost of their first bin.

For more information and to sign up for the new service go to: www.n-somerset.gov.uk/gardenwaste