Sticker shortage forces Shropshire Council to empty all garden bins regardless of payment

Tuesday (October 1) sees the official start of the council’s subscription service, which means residents have to opt in for garden waste collections at a cost of £56 per year.

However, the authority revealed last week, that a shortage of stickers – sent to residents to put on their bins to show they have signed up – means that non-subscribers will still get their garden waste emptied after October 1 if they put their bins out.

Shropshire Council said more than 49,000 people have now signed up to the £56-a-year garden waste collection service, but due to the sheer number, it’s taking longer than anticipated to send out some of the tamper-proof labels.

The shortage means that not all subscribers are expected to have received their sticker by the start of the scheme.

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said: “The message to people who have subscribed is: When your sticker arrives please apply it to your bin straightaway. If your sticker doesn’t arrive by October 1, please put your bin out as normal on your usual collection day and it will be emptied.”

But the spokesperson added that anybody who puts their garden waste bin out after October 1, will get it emptied - including those that have not paid.

A spokesperson said: “The waste crews will empty all garden waste bins that are put out.”

The introduction of garden waste subscription has proved controversial.

A petition raised more than 1,800 signatures and forced councillor to debate the move, but the authority said the service had to be introduced as it will raise up to £4million towards budget savings of around £62million which are required to balance the books this financial year.