Shropshire Council's 'almost impossible to remove' green bin stickers peeling off within days

Shropshire Council has been sending out the stickers to residents who have paid the £56-a-year charge for their green waste to be collected as the authority seeks to fill a financial black hole.

The stickers were due to be sent out in time for the October 1 deadline, but delays - put down to the number of people signing up to the service - meant it was 'taking a little longer than anticipated' to be distributed.

The hold-up meant refuse workers would continue to empty all green bins until all stickers had been sent to the 49,000 households that had paid.

Last week, Shropshire Council told residents to apply the stickers to the handle side, and described them as having ""extra strong adhesive making them almost impossible to remove".

However, that 'extra strong adhesive' has turned out to not be that strong, with residents reporting that their stickers are already peeling off.

Many people who have subscribed to pay the charge have been left annoyed and concerned that their bins will not be collected because of the dodgy stickers.

But Bridgnorth councillor Rachel Connolly shared an update which was circulated to councillors.

It said: “The green waste subscription stickers have not been produced to the required specification.

"We have now sourced a new provider who will be able to produce stickers to the necessary specification. They will be producing these within two weeks. Residents who already received a sticker will get a replacement.

"The cessation of the service for those who have not subscribed will be put back to November 4 and the paid service will run until the end of October 2025.”

Councillor Connolly, who is the Labour representative for Bridgnorth West and Tasley, said she understood the Conservative-led authority will not be paying for the original, faulty stickers.

"It's frustrating for residents who feel like they have been rushed into paying out money and now there is a delay," she said. "Hopefully it will be resolved soon.

"The current administration wanted to do this (charge for green bin collections). The majority of residents didn't want this to happen in the first place, as well as the booking system for the recycling centre."

There had been issues with the delivery of the original stickers, meaning the council said it would temporarily collect all bins to get around the possibility of legitimate subscribers finding that their green waste is not collected.

In advice to residents, the council explained the stickers use "extra strong adhesive making them almost impossible to remove".

People are told where to place the sticker – and what to do to the bin before attaching it.

The advice stated: "Bin stickers are currently being sent out to people who have subscribed so far.

"As soon as you receive yours please place it on the back of your garden waste bin (handle side) so it can easily be seen by our collection crews.

"Note: please make sure your bin is clean and dry before you apply your sticker.

"If you've subscribed and your sticker doesn't arrive ahead of your next scheduled garden waste collection, please put your bin out as normal and it will be emptied.

"The stickers are applied using an extra strong adhesive making them almost impossible to remove. They are designed to fray and tear when removed from the bins, which prevents them being reused by other residents.

"Your sticker will have your address and unique reference number on it, which allows the waste teams to check that the bin is at the relevant location."