LDC Green Waste, £70 per year charge

[Deleted member 22389]

I have been on to the council about why they will not collect Green Waste. For the money we pay every month in council tax this should be provided free of charge, like it does under other councils.
I was told that they where running a trial in Seaford which I thought was a good start. What I wasn't told is that there is going to be a charge of £70.00 a year for this service.

http://www.lewes.gov.uk/waste/22841.asp

The reason I bought this up is because my mum put a few rhubarb leaves in her rubbish bag. The dustmen ripped her bag open and refused to take it. My mum is 80 years old, doesn't drive and the nearest tip is 3 miles away.

 

[JJ McClure]

Most councils charge for taking green waste I thought?

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Most councils charge for taking green waste I thought?

When I was living up in Luton you got a wheelie bin for Green waste. It was part of the rubbish collection you didn't have to pay extra.
I was told on the phone that all green waste has to go down to the tip.

 

[drew]

I have been on to the council about why they will not collect Green Waste. For the money we pay every month in council tax this should be provided free of charge, like it does under other councils.
I was told that they where running a trial in Seaford which I thought was a good start. What I wasn't told is that there is going to be a charge of £70.00 a year for this service.

http://www.lewes.gov.uk/waste/22841.asp

The reason I bought this up is because my mum put a few rhubarb leaves in her rubbish bag. The dustmen ripped her bag open and refused to take it. My mum is 80 years old, doesn't drive and the nearest tip is 3 miles away.

I believe Mid Sussex also charge for the service. Not sure why you think they should collect for free. Could you perhaps list all the services you think a council should be providing for free and then also explain how this is financed without increasing council tax?

That said, I would say it is a poor show that they didn't take one or two rhubarb leaves from an 80 yr old.

 

[jevs]

I'm sure the tip in Lewes takes small amounts of green waste which they compost and turn into soil improver which is sold on site.

Must admit that our dustmen are bloody superb and will take pretty much anything (not forgetting that they're also clean and tidy, efficient and quiet)

 

[Deleted member 22389]

I believe Mid Sussex also charge for the service. Not sure why you think they should collect for free. Could you perhaps list all the services you think a council should be providing for free and then also explain how this is financed without increasing council tax?

That said, I would say it is a poor show that they didn't take one or two rhubarb leaves from an 80 yr old.

I think they should pick up Green Waste for the money we pay in our council tax. All in all the whole recycling plan in the area is a joke compared to other councils.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

Eastleigh Borough Council (my local) have the service, but do charge. It's not as much as Lewes though, we pay £30.

 

[Diego Napier]

When I was living up in Luton you got a wheelie bin for Green waste. It was part of the rubbish collection you didn't have to pay extra.
I was told on the phone that all green waste has to go down to the tip.

When was that?

I think that the economic reality means that probably most councils charge now; they receive less funding from central government and make up the difference with cuts here and charges there depending on their local priorities.

 

[beorhthelm]

I believe Mid Sussex also charge for the service. Not sure why you think they should collect for free. Could you perhaps list all the services you think a council should be providing for free and then also explain how this is financed without increasing council tax?

i assume this is supposed to be a joke, sarcastic post? refuse collection is the most core services councils provide.

 

[wellquickwoody]

I have been on to the council about why they will not collect Green Waste. For the money we pay every month in council tax this should be provided free of charge, like it does under other councils.
I was told that they where running a trial in Seaford which I thought was a good start. What I wasn't told is that there is going to be a charge of £70.00 a year for this service.

http://www.lewes.gov.uk/waste/22841.asp

The reason I bought this up is because my mum put a few rhubarb leaves in her rubbish bag. The dustmen ripped her bag open and refused to take it. My mum is 80 years old, doesn't drive and the nearest tip is 3 miles away.

I think there is probably a grey area in green waster disposal!

Kitchen waste should be taken away as part of normal domestic collections, this might include a few leaves off of the top of fruit and veg, and if this the position in your mum's case I would give the council a bell. Garden waste on the other hand will probably not be taken without a charge,

 

[Deleted member 22389]

When was that?

I think that the economic reality means that probably most councils charge now; they receive less funding from central government and make up the difference with cuts here and charges there depending on their local priorities.

2 years ago now. LDC should look at what is collected.
http://www.luton.gov.uk/environment/rubbish_waste_and_recycling/pages/bins.aspx

 

[Deleted member 22389]

I think there is probably a grey area in green waster disposal!

Kitchen waste should be taken away as part of normal domestic collections, this might include a few leaves off of the top of fruit and veg, and if this the position in your mum's case I would give the council a bell. Garden waste on the other hand will probably not be taken without a charge,

It is a grey area. I have been looking around at what other councils charge, LDC is still at the top with £70 at the moment, with Luton still being free. Just want value for money really. It's like the recycling, could contribute a lot more if LDC provided proper wheelie bins instead of these black containers.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I was recenty part of a residents 'Waste Panel' at which the possibility of green waste collections in B&H was discussed. Cityclean provided the costs of doing this ( I can't remember all the costs ) but the setup just to do it in the suburbs was £250k. Money they do not have spare. They had done the figures and the service would breakeven if £5 a month was charged. The question was would it be better to charge those people that wanted the service - i.e. those with gardens - or to absorb the costs so all tax payers were effectively charged. I'm a keen supporter of having the service introduced but even I can see that it's unfair that a sizable chunk of B&H residents who don't have gardens pay for the services for those of us lucky enough to have a garden.

I'd be more than happy to pay £5 for the service as a keen gardener. Then again, those with gardens should be composting anyway so shouldn't need the service apart from the odd cutting etc that can't practicably be composted.

 

[mac04]

Horsham collected Garden waste for free for about 10 years, but have been charging £29 for the last three years. Of course it was not really free, Council tax was increased by a few pounds for everybody when it was introduced.

HDC had the same problem as all other councils in recent years, they were unable to increase Council Tax, so they started charging £29 for the garden waste to raise extra cash, even though were we all already paying for it. It was a council tax increase, but by another name. So now, every household effectively pays about £10 for the Garden waste collections whether they use it or not, and those that actually use it pay an extra £29.

If Lewes are just starting to introduce the scheme, they are unable to do it the way Horsham did, as that would involve an "across the board" council tax rise, which they are unable (and unwilling) to do without a referendum. So they have to charge a rate that will cover their costs. This is not easy to estimate, as the cheaper it is, the more people will use it, covering more fixed costs.

 

[RyFish]

It costs £62 per year in Worthing, so I think the number of councils providing this service from the council tax is very small.

 

[skipper734]

Next door to Eastleigh in Winchester, we have wheelie bins for rubbish and recycling, with large bags for garden waste, all included in Council Tax payment. Pick up crews are two or three men, some of them are getting on a bit and they run between bins. I worry for them at times.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I have been on to the council about why they will not collect Green Waste. For the money we pay every month in council tax this should be provided free of charge, like it does under other councils.
I was told that they where running a trial in Seaford which I thought was a good start. What I wasn't told is that there is going to be a charge of £70.00 a year for this service.

The problem is that Lewes District Council will ONLY be providing this service in Seaford and then only as a trial. What prospects are there for the service ever to reach Lewes, Peacehaven, Newhaven, etc?

 

[Deleted member 22389]

The problem is that Lewes District Council will ONLY be providing this service in Seaford and then only as a trial. What prospects are there for the service ever to reach Lewes, Peacehaven, Newhaven, etc?

Suppose it's down to how many people will want to pay for the service.

 

[Triggaaar]

With the amount of small flats we have here, I don't think it's fair to charge those. They could charge a small amount to all properties above a certain band, so as to not affect the small non garden properties, and then also have a charge for those that use the service, so that you get the economies of scale and it's those that use it / can afford it that pay.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Next door to Eastleigh in Winchester, we have wheelie bins for rubbish and recycling, with large bags for garden waste, all included in Council Tax payment. Pick up crews are two or three men, some of them are getting on a bit and they run between bins. I worry for them at times.

Well, you are very lucky then [MENTION=12195]skipper734[/MENTION] We are also 'next door to Eastleigh', and whilst we are closer to Winchester than you, by the quirks of the boundaries, we fall under Eastleigh council. We used to have green bag collection for free, which changed to £35 (ish) per year about three years ago. This year they've changed it from a bag to another wheelie bin, so we've had to opt out. Its a pain in the arse having to make trips to the tip with garden waste in my lovely clean car, but we just have no spare space for a THIRD wheelie bin.