Have your say . .
Sedgemoor District Council Corporate Relations Manager: Claire Faun
Bridgwater House Direct Dial: 01278 435320
King Square, Bridgwater Fax: 01278 445500
Somerset, TA6 3AR e-mail: pressoffice@sedgemoor.gov.uk
General Enquiries: 0300 303 7800 twitter.com/SedgemoorDC
Date: February 28, 2019
Cheaper than a trip to the tip – Garden Waste collections
With the lighter evenings, gardeners are no doubt planning their gardening year ahead and itching to get out into their gardens. Garden Waste collection is a service on offer in Sedgemoor could be blooming useful. The fast, clean and cheap alternative is a subscription to Sedgemoor District Council’s garden waste collection service.
You get a roomy wheeled bin that is easy to fill as you walk it around your garden, saving time and energy going back and forth. The bin holds your garden waste neatly in a corner; no more messy piles of leaves blowing in the wind. Wheel your bin outside for the fortnightly collection, leaving you to sit back and smell the roses instead of using fuel and time going to the recycling centre. We collect flowers, plants, grass cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, weeds and even branches up to four inches across and compost them in Somerset.
Sedgemoor District Council is inviting residents to sign up to garden waste collections in time for the spring. At a cost of just £56.90 per year, those signing up to the scheme will receive 25 collections a year. The scheme encourages residents to recycle their garden waste.
Customers signing up have the option of receiving a green wheelie bin for their garden waste or garden waste sacks at a cost of £28.40 for 10 bags. Letters are now being sent to more than 10,000 current customers inviting them to renew their subscriptions, which start in April. Customers considering joining up can telephone 0300 303 7800 to order and pay.
Having your garden waste collected can save time and fuel and can prevent mess in your car. Every bit of Sedgemoor’s garden waste is turned into Revive soil conditioner.
Alongside a garden waste collection, home composting is a great way to turn your clippings and pruning’s, plus fruit and vegetable peelings and even shredded cardboard, into free soil conditioner. Low-cost compost bins can be purchased through Somerset Waste Partnership at www.somersetwaste.gov.uk
Ends
Background information – District Councils across Somerset have the policy of charging for the full cost of collecting garden waste, including their administrative and processing costs.
Whilst it is a service that councils have to provide, it is a discretionary decision whether or not to recover the costs. Other councils across the country may have decided to subsidise or not charge for this service, hence the differential in costs across the country for the ‘same’ service.
Somerset took the view that although this service is a valuable one for many people, it is important to recognise that there are people who don’t have gardens or don’t want to use this service. It would seem unfair that those residents who do not use the service should be expected to help subsidise it through their council tax contributions.
Claire Faun
Corporate Relations Manager
Sedgemoor District Council
Bridgwater House
King Square
Bridgwater
Somerset TA6 3AR
Tel: 01278 435320
Email: pressoffice@sedgemoor.gov.uk