Review Of Gwynedd Garden Waste Collection Service

Gwynedd Council’s Communities Scrutiny Committee will next week discuss a review of the county’s garden waste collection that includes the possibility of introducing a fee for the fortnightly service. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

With nine Welsh authorities already charging for the collection of garden waste, Gwynedd Council is now considering similar charges as part of its effort to protect essential local services from being cut as it wrestles with a huge funding shortfall. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Council estimates that introducing a fee of between £30 and £33 for this service would result in a reduction of approximately £750,000 in the amount of service cuts the authority would otherwise have to deliver. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Councillor John Wynn Jones, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Environment said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“In accordance with the Welsh Government’s ‘Collections Blueprint’, nine Welsh councils have already introduced charges for the collection of garden waste as a way of encouraging residents to compost their garden waste. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“It gives me no pleasure in proposing that Gwynedd follows suit, however the huge cuts in the funding we receive from central government means that we simply have no option but to consider such a step if we are to continue prioritising vital services such as social care for older people. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“If the proposal is approved, it is recommended that households would have the option of buying the service for a fee of between £30 and £33 a year. This would equate to somewhere between £1.30 and £1.67 per collection depending on whether a new service would be operational for nine months or 12 months of the year.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The matter will be considered by the Council’s Communities Scrutiny Committee on 19 May. Their recommendations will then be considered by the Council’s Cabinet for a final decision on 7 June. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

If approved, it is expected that the change to the garden waste collection service would be introduced from January 2017 onwards, and arrangements would be made to raise awareness amongst the county’s residents about the new arrangements. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​