Just 11% sign up for Council’s garden waste scheme

With just 10 weeks left until Cheshire East’s garden waste recycling scheme goes live, just 11% of householders have signed up.

To add to Cheshire East’s woes the government is pursuing legislation to make free weekly food and garden waste collections compulsory – “regular food and garden waste collections will ensure that they can get rid of their rubbish faster, at no additional cost to them.”

Cheshire East has advised residents that from January 2024, they will need to pay £56.00 per green bin to have their green waste taken away.

The council appears to have missed the fact that if just one household in each street signs up, the waste collection vehicles will still have to travel the same routes – not only extremely impractical but a massive waste of fuel.

The scheme, which opened to subscriptions on 2 October to much fanfare has, so far, encouraged just 20,000 households to sign up – equating to around 11.4% of the 175,000 total in Cheshire East.

A sticker, indicating households have paid, will need to be attached to green bins entitling them to have their garden waste collected. 

Once the service goes live on 15 January, subscribers will continue to have their garden waste collected by the council on their usual collection day each fortnight – and continue using their garden bin to recycle food waste.

What those who don’t subscribe are supposed to do with their food waste hasn’t been made clear – and the government is pursuing legislation insisting councils provide a free weekly food and green waste collections.

Currently, households not subscribing to the green waste scheme, will be able to take green waste to their local tip – free of charge – but consider the impact on the environment with all those added journeys to the tip.

The government has said:

“Every home in England will receive easier and more consistent recycling collections, under new plans to boost recycling and protect the environment, helping the country reach our target of eliminating all avoidable waste by 2050.”

Under the proposals, every household will receive separate, weekly food waste collections from 2023.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:
“Householders want more frequent recycling collections. Regular food and garden waste collections will ensure that they can get rid of their rubbish faster, at no additional cost to them.”

“Our proposals will boost recycling rates, and ensure that less rubbish is condemned to landfill.”

This could drive a double decker bus through the council’s plans.

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: 

“The introduction of our Garden Waste Recycling Scheme is a significant element in the council achieving a balanced budget in 2023-25 and being able to protect services for the people most at risk in our community.”

“By signing up to the scheme, residents’ garden waste will also continue to be taken to our state-of-the-art facility in Crewe, so that it can be recycled and turned into compost for use in agriculture and horticulture – which is of course positive for our environment.”

Assuming the council sells the compost, a fall of circa 90% in green waste collected must have a massive impact on the viability and cost-effectiveness of this service.

As part of the sign-up process, residents need to create a new account – different to any other Cheshire East account they may have. They will then need to register an address for the scheme, before paying the annual subscription of £56.00 per green bin in full. 

Once subscribed, a welcome pack containing their subscription sticker, which will have their address and a subscription number, will be sent out. The sticker should be attached to the back of their bin (handle side). 

Residents will only pay for the Garden Waste Recycling Scheme if they choose to opt-in and it remains free for residents to dispose of their garden waste at the borough’s household waste recycling centres.

You can sign up by visiting the council’s dedicated scheme webpage.

Residents not able to sign up online can contact the council on 0300 123 5011.