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| A new pay-for service in North Northants will begin in April, with residents being asked to subscribe to it now (Image: Reach PLC) |
Residents across North Northamptonshire are being asked to sign up to the new paid-for garden waste collections by North Northamptonshire Council. As from April, all those wanting their garden waste collected will have to pay for the service.
From yesterday, Monday, January 16, residents in the former areas of Corby, Wellingborough, East Northants, and Kettering councils can subscribe to the new optional collection service. It is the first time for much of the area that the service will no longer be free.
The annual subscription charge for the fortnightly service is £40 per bin. Collections under the new service begin on Monday, April 3 and anyone without a subscription will no longer have their garden waste collected .
North Northants Council (NNC) announced last November that it was harmonizing kerbside garden waste collections under a single service. Currently, only residents in East Northants pay for collections, at £55 per year.
To acknowledge the "historic disparity", the council has decided that existing subscribers will only have to pay £20 for their first full year of garden waste collections under the new scheme. This discount will be for the first year of the scheme only.
After this the annual cost will align with the rest of the North Northants area at £40 a year. Any new subscribers (those who subscribe from yesterday) will not get a discount and will pay the new charge of £40.
For those residents in the Wellingborough area, whose garden waste is not collected between November and March, the existing scheme will resume on Monday, March 13 and Monday, March 20. You are asked to put your garden waste bin out on the same day as your recycling bin.
However, should you want to continue to have your garden waste collected past April 3, you will need to subscribe to the new service. This new service will run all year round like the rest of the area.
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| Some residents in East Northants will get a discount on their first year of garden waste collections (Image: Getty Images) |
Payment can be made online via debit or credit card. People can sign up any time and, once payment is processed, will receive a new garden waste permit for sticking onto their bin so collection crews know to collect it.
NNC is also providing some alternatives under the new scheme for those not wanting to pay the subscription. A subsidized compost bin scheme means one can buy a home compost bin for £5 plus delivery.
The authority will also be offering an ad hoc sack collection system, at £16.50 for ten compostable sacks. Residents can also take green waste to their nearest household waste recycling centre in the NNC area for free disposal.
