North Yorkshire Council looks set to increase garden waste collection charges in the Harrogate district by almost 7% next year.
A report to a meeting of the council’s environment executive members meeting on Monday proposes charging £46.50 for garden waste subscription across the county.
People in the Harrogate district paid £43.50 this year, which means they are in line for a 6.89% price hike.
Charges for the often fortnightly roadside collections of 240-litre bins had been frozen for several years for most district and borough authorities and earlier this year council officers said the average cost in Yorkshire and Humber region for garden waste was around £44.
When challenged over the charges, the authority has emphasised the collections are a non-statutory service, and that it is not considered fair “for people who do not use the service to have to subsidise it”.
The officers’ report states the total number of garden waste licences bought in 2023/24 is forecast to be 126,750, generating an annual income of £4.996m, which is £302,000 above the income forecast for the year.
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The report states the extra income is due to Selby district area achieving “an impressive participation rate” of 43% since introducing charges in July with total subscriptions at 18,500, compared to the target of 6,900.
The council has previously warned of the potential to lose some subscribers as a result of its increase in charges.
Nevertheless, the report to the meeting states there has been no impact on the level of subscriptions as a result of harmonising the garden waste subscription charge in any of the former district and boroughs which already charged for the service.
The report states:
Harrogate district’s garden waste collection to remain county’s most expensive“If people choose not to subscribe to the garden waste collection service, experience from other authorities shows that residents tend to compost at home instead as there is no corresponding rise in residual waste tonnages to match the reduction in garden waste tonnages, therefore there is little impact on the environment.”
The cost of garden waste collection in the Harrogate district looks set to rise to £43.50 next year.
The service currently costs £41 a year, which is £15 a year more than people in Richmondhsire pay and is also higher than charges in the other five districts. Selby’s is free.
Harrogate Borough Council, which is currently responsible for the service, will be abolished on April 1.
North Yorkshire county councillors, who will transfer to the new single unitary authority North Yorkshire Council on the same date, look set to agree a six per cent increase in the cost of the service.
It would mean Harrogate district households that choose to pay for the service will see the charge increase by £2.50. Hambleton households will pay the next highest at £40, followed by Scarborough and Ryedale at £38, Craven at £36 and Richmondshire at £25.
The service is currently free in Selby.
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Garden waste is a discretionary service, which councils are not legally required to provide.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for business and economic development, Cllr Derek Bastiman, whose portfolio includes the management of waste disposal, said the service would be fairer because currently households in some districts that didn’t use the service subsidised those who did.
He said:
“This is a service people choose to opt into and it is important that we are clear on the need for it to pay for itself, alongside our commitment to continue to provide it to those residents who would like to receive it.
“There are real benefits to the service, including the environmental benefits of recycling garden waste and the convenience of not having to take your own garden waste to a recycling centre. It may well be cheaper than paying the fuel to get there, too.”
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive members will be asked to agree the new rate when members meet on January 10.