Dudley Council defend plans for whopping hike in garden waste collection fees

The authority has published its budget for the 2025/26 financial year which includes an increase in charges to households from £36 to £52.

The rise, of 44 percent, comes less than 12 months after the cash-strapped council introduced charging for the service in a bid to generate extra income.

Councillor Damian Corfield, Dudley cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said: “We are facing up to an unprecedented financial position where we need to find more than £41 million to balance the books and continue to deliver crucial front-line services for our most vulnerable residents.

“The charge for garden waste collections will equate to just £2 a fortnight. In exchange for that, residents will continue to get the service all year round apart from two weeks over Christmas.

“I must stress that we are not forcing anyone to pay anything – this remains an optional service.”

The service attracted more than 25,000 subscriptions in the first two weeks after it was announced in March 2024 and now has 73,000 paying households.

Despite a better than expected take-up the council insists the service still requires a £3.5m annual subsidy and the increase is set to remove the need for extra cash.

Cllr Corfield added: “The idea behind the charge is that it makes the service self-sufficient moving forwards – at the moment it is being subsidised by the taxpayer whether you opt in to it or not.

“For those that do want it – and the many thousands who signed up last year shows how valued it is – we will be doing all we can to ensure it continues to offer excellent value to our residents.”