Rushcliffe residents to pay for garden waste
A Nottinghamshire council will charge its residents £25 a year to have their garden waste collected.
Residents in Rushcliffe Borough Council may choose to opt out of the scheme but will have to find other ways to dispose of their garden waste.
The council is facing cuts in government grants of £1.6m over the next two years and the new scheme could save the authority almost £500,000.
Some residents expressed concerns about where they would dispose of waste.
Bingham resident Barry Key said he could understand the council had to make cuts but questioned whether charging for garden waste collection was the best way.
"Perhaps they could try cutting the collections in winter as most people don't have any garden rubbish in these months," he said.
"I feel sorry for, say, an old lady who lives on her own, likes doing her garden and has no way of going to the local dump. In fact anyone who doesn't have access to transport is stuck.
"It could also encourage people to dump the rubbish anywhere, in their grey [refuse] bins, on the roadside and in the verges."
In a statement Rushcliffe Borough Council said: "We appreciate this is a difficult decision to take but it works out at about 50p per week or £1 per collection.
"We have significant budget pressures like all other councils and this is just one way in which we can raise some additional income."
Residents have until the end of June to sign up and pay for the service. Any additional green bins will be charged at £10.