Brown bin price rise defended by Peterborough council leader

The recent rise in charges for brown bins has been defended by the leader of Peterborough City Council.
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Collections for garden waste have risen £45 to £50 this year, while the charge for two bins is now £75.

Brown bin charges were introduced in 2014 by the cash-strapped council which said it will lose around £1 million a year if it was to scrap the fee.

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However, critics of the scheme believe it has contributed to reduced recycling rates with people instead putting their garden waste in their black bins.

The cost of owning a brown bin in Peterborough has risenThe cost of owning a brown bin in Peterborough has risen
The cost of owning a brown bin in Peterborough has risen

Writing in his weekly Peterborough Telegraph column, council leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (who was deputy leader when the budget was set), said: “We contacted brown bin customers recently to inform them that the charge for our garden waste service is to increase slightly.

“For customers with one brown bin, the charge will rise from £45 to £50 per year and for customers with two bins the charge will now be £75.

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“This decision was taken as part of the council’s budget setting process for 2021/22 and I want to re-iterate the reasons for it.

“As you may well be aware, the level of funding we receive from central government has been drastically cut in recent years, meaning we have to look for savings and service efficiencies where we can.

“This is the first increase to the brown bin charge since 2018/19 and it will enable us to upgrade our current fleet of refuse vehicles and develop cleaner, greener services, benefitting residents and the environment.

“So, we feel it’s the right thing to do. After all, the service is not statutory and considering the rise only equates to roughly 10p extra per week for most customers, we believe it still delivers excellent value for money.”