FEE INCREASED FROM £20 TO £25
Residents can now sign up for next year’s garden waste collection service. The fortnightly service will run between spring and autumn with 17 collections, starting in March 2017. Subscriptions are available throughout the year for an annual fee of £25, although residents must subscribe before Tuesday 14 February 2017 to guarantee receiving all 17 collections. Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “Over 70,000 households subscribed to the garden waste collection service in 2016 and we’re pleased to announce the start of subscriptions for 2017. “The annual fee has increased to £25 compared to last year’s subscription of £20.
This is to ensure the service can continue despite current financial pressures.” Over the next couple of months, the council will be contacting eligible households by email or letter with details of how to subscribe. In order to subscribe, residents must use the letter sent to their home regarding the 2017 service as garden waste reference numbers are unique to each property. Subscriptions made using a different letter or last year’s letter or reference number will not be registered for garden waste collections. Residents can also visit www. durham.gov.uk/gardenwaste to see if their property is eligible and to sign up. They will receive a green bin sticker and a collection calendar.
Calendars will be issued from January. Those who have previously subscribed for three years will automatically receive their bin sticker and calendar in January. Garden waste collections do not take place during the winter months. However, people can still recycle their garden waste during the winter period by taking it to household waste recycling centres or composting it at home. For more information on garden waste collections in County Durham, visit www. durham.gov.uk/gardenwaste or call 03000 26 1000.
