Rises in York garden waste collection fees are needed to help cover roughly £2.1 million running costs, it’s been claimed, amid accusations of a two-tier service.
Cllr Jenny Kent, York Council’s Labour environment spokesperson, said garden waste collections needed to be funded without taking money from other services like those supporting older residents and children.
But opposition Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, Cllr Paula Widdowson said the charges were hitting poorer households the hardest while party leader, Nigel Ayre said they created a two-tier service.
It comes as the council’s Executive approved hikes in yearly charges for the Garden Waste Subscription service on Tuesday, December 2 from £49 to £52 from January.
Charges for the previously free collections, which now take place fortnightly from March to December, were set at £46.50-a-year when fees were first introduced in August last year.
Some households including those receiving Council Tax Support are eligible for half-price discounts.
Tuesday’s Executive meeting heard that more than 60 per cent of the almost 67,000 households eligible for collections had signed up for at least one permit.
The meeting also heard the service was being expanded to include homes on new developments, with 270 brought in this year according to council figures.
A council report stated there was currently a gap of around £175,000 between the service’s roughly £2.1 million running costs and the more than £1.9 million charges bring in.
The latest figures from July also showed uptake varied across York, with highs of 74 per cent, 73 and 70 per cent in the Copmanthorpe, Rural West and Bishopthorpe wards respectively.
They compare to Clifton’s 41 per cent, Heworth’s 43 and Westfield’s 44, the three lowest excluding the city centre Guildhall ward’s 30 per cent.
Environment Executive Member Cllr Kent said more than 70 per cent of English councils had now introduced charges for the service which is not a statutory service for local authorities.
The Labour executive member told Tuesday’s meeting: “No one puts prices up lightly but it’s easy to equate take-up with deprivation.
“Guildhall also has a low take-up but it also has a small number of homes with gardens, there are other households who either can’t use the scheme or have no need for it.
“This £3 increase is helping to close the £175,000-gap.”
But Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Ayre said the hikes were a move in the wrong direction, leading to an increase in fly-tipping and queues at waste sites.
“This is a two-tier service, charges have increased by 13 per cent since they were first introduced and the effects are being felt in the most deprived communities.”
Speaking after the meeting, Conservative group leader Cllr Chris Steward said they also opposed the increase.
Cllr Steward said: “Taking away waste, whether recycling, from gardens or general waste is one of the most fundamental and basic duties of a council and what people pay their ever increasing council tax for.”
