Northampton's £42-a-year garden rubbish scheme is fully up and running

Some 43,000 Northampton households are being warned that getting rid of their garden rubbish is now down to them with the Borough Council's new paid-for collection service in full swing.

The £42-a-year subscription scheme started on April 6 with residents paying-up to continue having brown bins and garden recycling sacks collected fortnightly.

Delays delivering sacks and stickers to easily identify subscribers' bins caused by staffing issues related to the Covid-19 crisis meant contractors Veolia carried on collecting from everybody for the first month, leading to confusion and complaints from those that had paid.

But those teething troubles it also gave time for an extra 5,000-plus to sign up and Borough Council chiefs believe everything is in place for the scheme to work properly.

Around 27,000 have now signed up for the service out of approximately 70,000 households — around 38 per cent, which is way ahead of the 30 per cent target set when the controversial scheme was announced in December.

Guildhall officials insisted the service would kick-off on time last month, even though all the county's recycling centres are closed during the coronavirus crisis.

That sparked a spike in reports of fly-tipping and also in 999 calls to Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service to deal with blazes caused by out-of-control bonfires.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months in prison if convicted by magistrates. Major offenders can also be hit with unlimited fines and up to five years jail if convicted in a Crown Court.

There are also a number of other penalties, including fixed penalty notices issued by local authorities.

Councils do not need to offer garden waste collections and many already charge — including neighbouring Daventry and East Northamptonshire where households are billed £36 and £55 respectively.

Council leader Jonathan Nunn said the change is needed to keep the non-statutory service going in the face of falling government funding.

Cllr Nunn said: “Councils are not required by law to provide a garden waste collection service and not everyone uses the service. So by charging an annual fee, we can keep the collections going for those who still wish to have them.

“This charge brings us in line with around 50 per cent of councils nationally which now operate a chargeable garden waste service.”

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