Do you pay to have green waste collected?

Peter — I assume, in the context of this Conversation, that you are referring to the bins provided for garden waste. There is no standardisation of colour but I doubt your comment refers to the bins provided for recyclable material for which the collection and disposal cost is supposed to be charged within the council tax but free at the point of provision.

I believe the reason for charging is that local authorities are no longer required as a statutory duty to collect and dispose of ‘green’ waste. They provide this service at a standard charge to the householders who require it. Many households do not use the service because they do not generate any significant quantity of green waste, do not have a garden, prefer to dispose of any waste themselves at a local tip, use it to make their own compost, or employ a contractor to manage their garden and remove the arisings. It would not be fair if the costs of this selective service was charged to all council tax payers.

This change has been in place for many years but perhaps your local authority has only caught up recently. The green waste is sold to commercial operators for conversion to compost and it could be that the income from that was enough to cover the operating costs. I thought councils did have the power to reduce or remit the charge in respect of householder’s with special needs [e.g. low incomes or incapacity] but it cannot be assumed that all disabled people are unable to afford the green waste bin charge. If you were able to use your own transport there would be a cost involved in taking garden waste to a municipal tip. I suggest you enquire of your local council whether you are eligible for any relief from the collection charge.

What I find unacceptable is that local authorities are using the garden waste collection charge as a money-making opportunity rather than merely covering the costs of the operation taking one year with another. The number of households using the service has increased to a very high level over the years, partly because of the lack of alternative facilities, and the volumes collected and sold on to the compost manufacturers have increased proportionately as the commercial demand for garden compost has risen in parallel. These economies of scale have not been reflected in the annual charges. The collection rounds are now much more efficient with more bins per mile requiring servicing so the unit cost per household should have reduced considerably. Collections in rural areas will be more costly than in dense urban areas but nevertheless there should have been price stability at worst. Yet the charge to householders has been routinely raised by whatever percentage amount the authority applies to its general service levels or by whatever they deem will meet with little or no resistance; it is not exactly an election issue. Where we live, the collection charges have risen from £48.30 in 2021 to £54.60 in 2022 [both at the direct debit discounted rate] — a 13% increase. It is virtually impossible to get a breakdown of the costs of this operation and the justification [if any] for such an increase in charges.

My green bin is emptied free of charge every two weeks, except for part of the winter. I only use it to dispose of waste that I cannot compost, so it does not get much use. Hedge clippings are chopped up with the rotary mower and put on the heap with grass, moss, weeds, and other green waste. That produces several barrow loads of good compost each year to improve the soil.

I see councils are likely to abolish charges for disposing of diy waste at their recycling sites, to try to tackle fly tipping.

Looking back through this Conversation, it does seem that the green waste collection charges vary wildly cross the country. In June 2013, Victoria in Sheffield was paying £60.00 for a fortnightly service between May and November. The service now operates between March and November at about the same total charge. That is how I would expect the charge to have altered over the years with the benefits of the economies of scale.

I compost what I can but not the grass cuttings or hard wood. Since moving the compost bin to a better position where it gets more sunshine the turnover is faster.

I have been given a large bag of mineralised straw mulch which I have not yet opened. I have no experience of this product. Does anyone have any views on its value? Does it look alright? And how does it compare with normal compost as a soil improver?

This looks like a mulch to conserve moisture and suppress weed growth rather than a soil improver. It is said to last a couple if years so may take some time to rot down. It also seems very expensive.

Grass cuttings – unless treated with weedkiller – work well on the compost heap if mixed with other material. If you can get straw bales they will work well but need to be wetted well in my experience.

Thanks, Malcolm. I think I’ll open the straw mulch and see what it looks like. I don’t really need a weed suppressant, nor something that will take two years or more to break down. Putting it in the compost bin mixed with the grass cuttings won’t do much good either perhaps. I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, of course, but although the monthly RHS magazine contains adverts for this material I have never seen any recommendations for its use.

Can you use the mineralised straw mulch as a weed suppressant, John? It might save work with the hoe and if it only breaks down slowly, that could be a benefit.

I could, Malcolm.

One bag won’t go far so if it looks alright I might use it on one of the beds. We don’t have a serious weed problem really. Compared with our previous gardens, our present one is quite modest and easy to manage so there’s not much room for weeds between all the flowers and plants.