Garden waste

Like all local authorities, we are facing significant financial challenges. Demand for our services for our most vulnerable residents is going up, and so too are our costs due to the high rate of inflation that is affecting us all. The council has already made savings of around £16m in the current financial year and needs to find savings of £15m in the next financial year.

Approximately 70 per cent of the Council’s budget is spent on services for vulnerable adults and children. The remainder is spent on services such as street cleansing, road maintenance, libraries, leisure centres and waste and recycling collections.

In this context, the decision to introduce a charge for garden waste collections has been taken in order to protect essential services. We carried out a budget consultation last year which showed that charging for non-essential services was the second most preferred option for closing our budget gap, with three out of ten respondents saying they would be willing to pay for garden waste collection.

We recognise the pressures on people’s household finances, so feel this is the fairer option for all residents as only those who use the service would be charged for it. The collection fees will enable the service to pay for itself, meaning any increase in operational costs in future years will not have to be funded through council tax.

65% of councils across England already charge for garden waste collections, and our fee is less than the national and West Midlands averages. Residents in Sandwell also pay the second lowest council tax rate in the West Midlands.

Free disposal of garden waste will continue to be available at the Household Recycling Centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury (book a slot at www.sandwell.gov.uk/tip), and if you only have a small amount of garden waste why not try composting it at home.  

Garden waste collections for 2023 will start in the spring and continue until the beginning of December 2023 and consist of the same 20 collections as in previous years with a 12-week winter break. We hope that residents with gardens appreciate the convenience of this fortnightly collection service and are willing to pay for the service in 2023.

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We recognise that we are in a cost of living crisis, which is effecting a lot of people. Find out what support is available at Supporting Sandwell. 

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