'No current plans' to charge for green bin collections, say council after lively debate

The authority forks out £33.5 million a year disposing of waste, and government statistics revealed it ditched more than half a ton of waste per head in Shropshire in 2020/21 - the second highest of any local authority in the country.

Councillors debated potentially charging taxpayers for garden waste collection, as it was one of a number of measures suggested on Shropshire Council's waste management strategy.

Lib Dem David Vasmer objected to the move, saying it could encourage fly-tipping. However, Green councillor Julian Dean said that evidence suggests charging people does reduce waste and that waste "needs to be paid for".

Now the council has moved to assure residents that there are no immediate plans to charge for green bin collections.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: "I do want to make clear that we have no current plans to charge for garden waste collections. This is something that would first need detailed proposals to be drawn up for consideration by cabinet, before going to public consultation ahead of a final decision by a meeting of the full council.

“So, any such plans would be shared with residents – and they would have the chance to tell us what they think about them – before any decisions are taken.”

Joyce Barrow, chair of the place overview committee, said: “Though there was some discussion at the meeting about charging for garden waste collections, this was just one line in a very detailed report about how we can all help to tackle the amount of waste produced by the county’s households.

“We had a really good discussion about waste minimisation. It’s clear that we are producing too much waste and we need to do something about it, so I’m really pleased committee supported plan for a new waste minimisation strategy. The views of the committee will now be shared with Cabinet when they consider a possible new strategy.”