Cheshire East Council is urging residents to sign up to their Garden Waste Recycling Scheme which goes live for subscribers next month as the take up so far has been low.
If residents who would like the council to continue emptying their garden bin they need to sign up to the scheme by the end of December, so that their subscription bin sticker arrives in time for their first collection in the new year.
However, so far only 33,000 households have opt-in to the scheme which costs £56 per year. This represents just 22% of the 150,000 properties which are eligible for the garden bin collection service (due to constraints on house design and collection round limitations).
The Council has forecast that the scheme will generate £4.05m across two years, £0.9m in 2023/24 with the balance in 2024/25.
Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "We will soon be at that point where garden bin collections will pause for the Christmas and New Year period, with no garden waste collections from 18 December until 15 January.
"When collections do resume in January, our Garden Waste Recycling Scheme will be live and garden waste collections will become a paid-for optional service.
"So far, more than 33,000 households have signed up to the scheme and for those residents, we will continue to take their garden waste away as normal on their usual collection day.
"Residents can sign up to the annual scheme at any point in the year but will pay the same fee whether they sign up at the beginning of the year, part way through the year or only need a few collections.
"That's why I encourage residents who'd like to continue having their garden bin emptied to subscribe as soon as possible so that their subscription sticker can be posted out to them in time for the service going live."
By subscribing, residents may choose to continue using their garden bin to recycle food waste.
Subscriptions cost £56 per garden bin, per year, with a 25% reduction in the fee available for those receiving qualifying benefits.
Once subscribed, residents will be sent a welcome pack containing their subscription sticker, which will have their address and unique subscription number on it.
Residents are urged to attach the sticker to the back of their garden bin (handle side) as soon as they receive it as garden bins without a valid sticker displaying will not be emptied.
Cllr Warren added: "Once again, I'd like to thank residents who have already subscribed to the scheme.
"Like many local authorities, Cheshire East Council is facing an extremely challenging financial environment and the introduction of our Garden Waste Recycling Scheme is a significant element in helping us to work towards presenting a balanced budget by the end of March 2024."
The quickest way to sign up is by visiting: cheshireeast.gov.uk/gardenbin and clicking the subscribe button.
Residents not able to sign up online can contact the council on 0300 123 5011.
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