Shropshire Council's garden waste subscription service goes live

After October 1, those who have not subscribed will see their green waste collections stopped.

It follows a consultation that ran from 9 April to 20 May this year and asked people what they would be willing to pay for a garden waste subscription. The plans have been put forward to help Shropshire Council make £62m of savings.

A 12-month subscription costs £56 per bin and will cover the period 1 October to 30 September with a payment window open until 31 March 2025.

Those who subscribe to the service will be sent a special sticker to attach to their garden bin, to show collection crews which bins to empty. Leaflets about the new service are being distributed to all households in the Shropshire Council area.

From 1 October food waste collections will be suspended as councils cannot charge for this service. Subscribers to the garden waste service will no longer be able to put food waste in their garden bin.

However, all councils in England must introduce a weekly food waste collections to all properties from 2026 and Shropshire Council will introduce a new food waste collection service to all households from that date.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy Leader and Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said:

“Garden waste collections will stop from 1 October for anyone that hasn’t subscribed by this date, so I encourage anyone that wants to keep using the service to sign up as soon as possible

“As we’ve said before, Shropshire Council is facing unprecedented financial pressure. We must make significant savings and our plans include difficult decisions. We must look at other ways of creating income so that we can protect essential frontline services for those residents most in need.

“Though the collection of garden waste is not a service that the council must by law provide, it is one that we want to continue to provide. And as not all residents need or want the service we’ll now be providing this as an opt-in chargeable service to those who need or want it.

“Some 80% of English councils already charge for garden waste collections, and many have been doing so for several years. An annual green waste subscription charge of £56 is in line with our neighbouring councils – and will help us to make the required savings.”

People that don’t subscribe are asked not to put garden waste in their general waste bin, as this is taken to the council’s energy recovery facility which can’t accept garden waste. General waste bins containing garden waste won’t be emptied.

To subscribe and for more information about the services people should visit the Shropshire Council website at shropshire.gov.uk/gardenwaste.