Council bosses to sign off £30 garden waste collection charge in North Tyneside

A new £30 charge for garden waste collections is expected to be signed off by North Tyneside Council chiefs next week.

The plans for an annual charge for garden waste collections were included in the council’s most recent budget, as part of cuts backs and new fares to plug a £19.2m financial gap. According to local authority documents, it expects 22,000 households to take on the charge, generating around £660,000 per year.

On Monday, June 24, North Tyneside Council's cabinet will be asked to approve the terms and conditions of the new collections. These include the fact there will be 18 collections in a calendar year and the new charge itself.

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According to the new terms and conditions, the service fee is payable in one transaction and cannot be spread over multiple instalments. The first payment will be required in full by November 30 2024 for paid collection starting in March 2025.

Currently, garden waste is collected between March and November and stops between December and February. No discounts are available, although the council states the garden waste collection fee is the lowest among the seven councils in the North East. The fee is also up for annual review.

North Tyneside Council attempted to introduce garden-waste collection charges back in 2012. The council launched a scheme in late 2012 to establish how many people would opt to fork out £20 for the collection service.

The council later scrapped the plan in January 2013, after more than 30,000 out of the 50,000 eligible households said they would not pay. The council subsequently refunded the 19,236 residents who did pay.