The cost of the Isle of Wight council’s Green Garden Waste collection service will rise on Friday.
The decision was made in the days before Christmas to increase the price of the discretionary service to £102 a year, from £96.
Covering inflationary costs
The fee will rise 6.25 per cent to cover inflationary costs related to replacement bins, staff pay and overtime, uniforms and fuel.
When the scheme was first launched in 2017 the service cost £60 and rose to £72 in 2022, with a further price hike last year to £96.
The monthly price of the subscription will rise from £8 to £8.50.
Extremely popular service
The council says the service is extremely popular, with currently around 10,350 subscribers having their garden waste collected from their houses fortnightly.
With greater monetary pressures, the council is required to find savings or generate more income in the coming financial year.
By increasing the price, the council could make an additional £60,000 a year.
In force from Friday
The higher price will come into force on Friday 5th January, if no Isle of Wight councillor objects to the increase by Thursday 4th January 2024.
The council needs to bring the changes in now to ensure subscriptions and renewals are open to residents with the price change, early in the year.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
