Council branches out with garden waste collection scheme

A new garden waste collection scheme could soon be offered to Brighton & Hove residents.

Members of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee are being asked to agree proposals for the scheme which could begin next Spring.

Under the scheme residents would pay £52 a year to have garden waste collected in wheelie bins from their properties.

Currently residents can dispose of their garden waste by composting at home, taking it to one of the council’s household waste recycling sites, or paying for a contractor to collect it. Small amounts of green waste have been also been accepted in household refuse bins. However, the launch of the new service would mean residents living in areas covered by the scheme could no longer use their refuse bins to dispose of garden waste.

Residents signing up to the new scheme would receive a 240 litre wheelie bin to be collected every two weeks. The waste would be transported to a facility in East Sussex where it will be converted to compost.

The council plans to introduce the service with a trial in the Hove Park and Withdean areas. Residents would be able to sign up from November with the service starting in March next year.

Once the trial has been established and evaluated, the service could be offered to other areas of the city where residents have space to store a wheelie bin.

The council will also continue to offer cut price compost bins.

The scheme would help increase the city’s recycling rate which is currently around 25%.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee said:  “We know there is a huge demand from residents in the city for a garden waste recycling scheme so I am pleased that we now have a proposal which could see a scheme up and running as early as next Spring.

“This is another step towards our commitment to provide improved and tailor made refuse and recycling services for all our residents in Brighton & Hove.”