South Kesteven District Council is moving forward with plans to increase green waste collection charges.
A proposal to raise the cost of emptying a first green bin from £51 to £53, and subsequent bins from £42 to £44, was backed by the authority’s cabinet during a meeting on Thursday (January 16).
Officers had initially recommended a £1 increase for both garden and bulky waste collections, but the environment overview and scrutiny committee decided in November not to raise the bulky waste fee. They highlighted the popularity of the garden waste service, which currently has 36,000 subscriptions.
Compost bin, garden waste. iStock-171242694
New customers pay £79 for the service in the first year, which includes £28 for the bin and £12 for delivery.
The cabinet report also confirmed there are no proposed increases for bus station departure charges or market stall fees.
At a meeting earlier in the week, leader Ashley Baxter (Independent) described raising traders’ fees as “not a fight worth having.”
New parking charges at council car parks are set to take effect from Monday (January 20), with overall price increases at both short- and long-stay car parks in Stamford and Grantham.
During Thursday’s meeting, Coun Baxter described the proposed green waste collection increase as “fair,” explaining that the council “don’t like putting charges up” but needed to do so due to inflation.
The proposal still requires final approval from full council as part of the draft budget for 2025/26.