Not football related at all, and I thought another topic for us to comment/complain about wouldn't go amiss whilst we wait for the 'proper news'

Got a leaflet given in town today to tell me that from 1st May 2017 Burnley Council has to introduce a yearly charge to empty brown garden waste bins, it's going to be £30 per year, or a discounted early bird price of £25 if you sign up by April. I can't decide whether to never cut my grass and prune my roses again, or pave the lot.............

I don't really see an issue with that.

Having a garden that needs maintaining is the householders choice, to expect the council to get rid of the resulting trimmings for free is a bit odd.

However if you let your garden over grow too much, the council will send you a nice little letter I believe asking you to tidy it up.

Bargain. I have to pay £60 and they only collect from April til October

Is there a retainer if we stay in the same house?

Another excuse for the least law abiding citizens to dump wherever they please.

Anyway, isn't it part of the council tax ? You pay more, and you get less.

Bobbins.

We pruned our bushes and then couldn't tip them at Burnley because we turned up in a Reading Hire Van
I explained I was a landlord and happy to pay a tipping few but was told "sling my hook" and they wonder why you tipping is on the increase.!

Funkydrummer wrote:Anyway, isn't it part of the council tax ? You pay more, and you get less.

You'd expect it to be, yeah. For what I pay for my council tax, I certainly don't see it justified. There was a loose manhole cover on the main road near me until recently, which made an absolute racket each and every time a car drove over the cycling lane (which only happens if you don't know how to drive properly). I emailed the Council to ask them to sort it and it took 4 weeks to be done - even though they initially said 48 hours max, followed by 2 further deadlines which they also failed at. Not sure if Burnley Council have improved since I lived there, but if they're as bad as over here, they're not even worth the money we pay them, without adding more charges.

For just grass cuttings and weeding these can be placed with other unrecycable waste in black bin liners.
Simples

Had this in Pendle for a while, only have small lawns up our way, only fill one bin a year, some don't want to pay £30 for one bin emptying so put it in carrier bags and shove them in roadside bins.

[quote]Anyway, isn't it part of the council tax ? /quote]

It would appear not, the leaflet says " the garden waste service is not a statutory service - the council is not required by law to provide it. The service was introduced in response to residents wishes.

I appreciate with increasing costs and a reducing government grant ( the council's words) that they can no longer do it for free - but will it encourage some people to fly tip, as has happened when they introduces a fee to collect household items.
Maybe i was the daft one to assume it was part of what my poll tax covered ?

We have this service, fortnightly "green bin" garden waste collection, £50/year. It's brilliant value - and fair.

The £50 saves me the time and expense of driving to the local recycling centre - queuing could often waste an hour or more. Also makes lawn mowing simpler; mow lawn, tip cuttings in bin. Sorted.

I'm not sure that the people living in flats and houses without gardens should be paying for my garden waste disposal.

We still have weekly collections for all the other waste and re-cycling (paper, bottles, food waste etc). I think this is most important - so very happy to pay my little bit for the "green bin."

get a composting bin.

They're introducing it here too. £35 p.a. Lots of unhappy folk, but it wasn't that long ago when we had to take it to the tip ourselves.

Also why should those who live in flats/retirement homes etc subsidise those with gardens.

If people fly tip because they can't be ar$ed taking their crap to the tip then they know what they are.

I'm in Basingstoke and pay £32 per year for this service; fortnightly collections Feb-November. Seems a reasonable price to not have to sneak the odd bagful in the standard waste / trips to the recycling place.
You've also got the satisfaction of knowing that the stuff is properly composted (and compost bags sold to raise money that goes back into the system). I have a biggish compost bin but after bunging in all the veg/fruit/tea bags kitchen waste, it wont accommodate hedge cutting/tree cuttings etc.

We have had this scheme up here in Northumberland for the last five years. It started off at £20 for 20 collections, which are made fortnightly, and has risen gradually over the years and is scheduled to be £31 for this year. With three lots of grass to keep trimmed and other garden rubbish to get rid of, it is well worth the money and is so convenient. I forgot to mention that this is not compulsory, you have to opt in to the system each year and pay up front.

Sidney1st wrote:I don't really see an issue with that.

Having a garden that needs maintaining is the householders choice, to expect the council to get rid of the resulting trimmings for free is a bit odd.

Of course, the problem with that logic is that you can apply it to other public services. For example, it's a couple's choice whether or not they have children, why shouldn't they pay for them to go to school? Or it's a householder's choice whether or not they have fire hazards in the home, so why shouldn't they pay for visits from the fire brigade? Keep on going and eventually we have no public, centrally funded services at all - it's all on a pay as you use basis.

The real problem is the cuts in central funding that are destroying public services left, right and centre. People will, as suggested, find a way around paying the charge and it will almost certainly never be a good solution.

Council tax in all areas needs to rise.

£35 a year, £2.92 a month, £0.68 a week. Compare that to getting rid of the stuff yourself, it's nothing.

Bacchus wrote:
The real problem is the cuts in central funding that are destroying public services left, right and centre. People will, as suggested, find a way around paying the charge and it will almost certainly never be a good solution.

When was the last time you remember people didn't complain about public services?

I've always considered Burnley council to be absolutely rubbish at the best of times for various things and that was when Labour were in government with Blair.
I know people who feel the same about councils across the country.

Ah well, at least we know the top eggs are getting their generous pay schemes.

I live in a flat and our block has green bins. Originally they were used for garden and kitchen food waste plus cardboard. The material was composted and used on agricultural and horticultural land. Then because many residents could not be bothered to remove staples and sticky tape, as well as leaving other crap in there, cardboard is now put in the glass/ plastic etc. recycling bin.

The garden waste - leaves, grass cuttings, small prunings - is put in our bins. Previously they were bagged up and put in the normal refuse bins.

Councils are (or at least were) obliged to reduce the use of landfill as we are running out of holes in the ground. I fear this introduction of charges is a backward step. What may happen next is that there will be an increased demand for incinerating plants which most people do not want, at least 'not in their back yard'.

Well, after putting it on here and reading folks's replies, my initial thoughts of "typical bl***y council" have been been put into a better perspective! Thanks you lot - hope the same happens when the window slams shut!!

If councils don't reduce their landfill costs then council taxes will rise accordingly so it's in all our interests to do our bit

I've been paying the £30 a year for several years in Pendle now, but object to it strongly.
I have a 3 bedroomed house with a garden. There are 2 of us live in it and pay the Council Tax. It's just over £2000 a year.
Many 3 bedroomed terraced houses half a mile away pay £800 less.
I always assumed that the extra £800 was more than enough to cover the fact that I have a garden and therefore might have garden waste that needed collecting.

Eloise Laws wrote:Not football related at all, and I thought another topic for us to comment/complain about wouldn't go amiss whilst we wait for the 'proper news'

Got a leaflet given in town today to tell me that from 1st May 2017 Burnley Council has to introduce a yearly charge to empty brown garden waste bins, it's going to be £30 per year, or a discounted early bird price of £25 if you sign up by April. I can't decide whether to never cut my grass and prune my roses again, or pave the lot.............

Garden waste bin (Composter), stick some lime on the cuttings etc and it will composted in no time, make sure not to use on anything that needs no lime on when you spread on garden