It seems a pretty fair way for councils to make a bit of money. It's a shame they can't make people who litter pay an annual fee. The act of dropping litter could be seen as consent to pay someone else to pick it up. Much more lucrative than fines.
I currently pay £60 a year for my garden bin,collected once a fortnight. You can get a surprising amount in it if you ram it down hard!! I have no car so the local tip is not an option. A friend who has a very large garden used to take garden waste that he could not compost to the tip.He now has 2 bins and said it is cheaper and less time consuming to use the bins. I know we would rather not pay but sometimes there is no viable alternative.
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
Our Council charge £48 (I think) per bin but this year stopped collection from Nov to March next year, so the charge is remaining the same for a lesser service. We have a large garden with lots of hedging so have 4 compost bins, a leaf bin and a shredder, but still manage to fill two Council bins every fortnight or so. The very small depot is in the middle of the City so I'm happy to pay the charge to save driving and queueing. If it gets much more expensive though, I might have to think again.
Our LA are currently consulting about us paying. I objected on principle. They made it sound as though only a privileged few benefited, but then my CT charges pay for lots of things I don't use. Like the OP I can take my waste to allotment to compost, but there are a lot of things that aren't suitable to compost. I also fear it will lead to an increase in people having bonfires and fly tipping. Our council stopped food waste collection 6 months ago it was supposed to be temporary, the Christmas break for green waste collection gets longer by a couple of weeks every year it seems, so they are going backwards not forwards on their waste management & re-cycling.
I don't find it a problem to pay for services that I don't use. I'm grateful that I don't need them.
I think there's a difference perhaps between services you CHOOSE not to use, eg libraries or sport centres which you CAN use, but if you live in a flat, you CAN'T use a garden collection service so I see no reason why they should be expected to, effectively , subsidise the service for others. Back on the comfy fence for me.
There are many services provided by the council for people with disabilities , refugees, homeless or whatever. I'm glad that I don't need these services, but I'm happy to pay for them. If money gets wasted along the way, that's a shame but I'm hoping most of it hits the spot. I think it's a pity that some people are only willing to pay for what will benefit themselves personally.
I'm afraid there's a lot of " what's in it for me" but nobody volunteers to pay MORE council tax, so it has to be prioritised . "you can't please all the people all the time"
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You can get a surprising amount in it if you ram it down hard!!
I have no car so the local tip is not an option.
A friend who has a very large garden used to take garden waste that he could not compost to the tip.He now has 2 bins and said it is cheaper and less time consuming to use the bins.
I know we would rather not pay but sometimes there is no viable alternative.
Back on the comfy fence for me.
I think it's a pity that some people are only willing to pay for what will benefit themselves personally.