Rother District Council (RDC) has announced that its garden waste charge will increase by 47% to £81 in a few months time. The huge rise, from the current £55 a year, means that local residents will be paying £3.24 for each fortnightly emptying of their brown bins. Any additional bins will each cost £66 a year on top of the single bin fee. The 47% increase represents almost 14 times the current CPI inflation rate of 3.4%.
RDC blamed “rising costs” for the substantial increase and argued that it was justified given that garden waste collection it is an “optional service”. However, given the recent rise in council tax and the fact that local councils are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their full range of services with money from central government, many residents will no doubt reach their own conclusions on the reasons for this extraordinary price rise.
The fee increase will certainly not be welcomed given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .
My local council gets paid for this waste that is either burnt to create electricity or is composted then sold to businesses
And they wonder why fly tipping is so popular.