Global warming could hit Atherstone pockets over cost of new green bin collection scheme, councillors told

Climate change may well impact on the charge for a new garden waste scheme given the green light by council policy-makers and set to affect thousands of householders including Atherstone and district.

The cost to residents across North Warwickshire of paying the local authority for collecting their green bins from the beginning of June could depend on how much global warming has an effect on the growing season, Executive Board members heard.

The proposal, which is certain to be ratified by the Tory-controlled full council later this month, will see a new annual fee of £40, based on a 45 to 47-week service.

But the duration of the collection service could be lengthened to a maximum of 51 weeks with a variable charge up to £44.

Council Streetscape corporate director Richard Dobbs told the meeting the local authority had seen a marked extension to cutting the grass across the borough "which now starts earlier and goes on later".

"As climate change bites it will go deeper into the season," he said, impacting on how long the collection needs to be in force.

At the moment Mr Dobbs explained 20 per cent of garden waste is collected over the winter period compared with the height of the season.

He said implementing the new scheme will increase awareness of garden waste disposal. Two thirds of local authorities across England and Wales charge for garden waste services and other councils within Warwickshire are considering it at the moment.

"It will have an impact on recycling rates but we expect it to be fairly minimal. Although there will be a dip, experience from other authorities suggest it will be fairly negligible," added Mr Dobbs.

The measure is being implemented as the council strives to make ends meet in the coming financial year. Research by the Local Government Information Unit reveals North Warwickshire, like 97 per cent of councils in England, will to make significant cuts to revenue budgets in 2020/2021 through a combination of cost savings and increasing fees and charges.

Labour councillors have yet to decide their stance on the scheme but opposition leader Adam Farrell asked if there had been any examples of the scheme "not working" in other areas.

Mr Dobbs said he was "not aware where it hasn't worked but the take-up is clearly less in some authorities". Factoring on a 55 per cent take-up in North Warwickshire – with net income on a lower premise – the council can expect to make in the range of £377,000 and £514,000 a year, he added.

The most dramatic suggestion within the scheme involves setting up a North Warwickshire Gardeners' Club.

The enterprising idea would "add value and offset the cost to residents of charging for garden collections involves providing discount vouchers or promotions with local garden centres to encourage sign up", the report says.

Officers report initial discussions with the garden centre have been "positive".

Further talks will be required, the report adds, but the intention is to provide a scheme where the value of vouchers would equal or exceed the cost of the service "if possible".

If residents signed up to take full advantage of the discounts linked to membership, this would have the net effect of saving the cost of the collection charge.

Mr Dobbs told the Executive Board last night special promotion of the proposed scheme was essential to informing local residents – bringing out an earlier-than-usual edition of the council's North Talk publication to explain what it entails.