Single garden waste collection charge proposed for North Yorkshire

Currently, there are seven different garden waste collection services in the county, one for each district or borough.

Charges vary across the county, with the cost of an annual permit to rise by six per cent.

In Ryedale the cost of a 2023/23 permit will be £38 – a £2.30 rise.

Garden waste is a discretionary service, not one the councils are legally required to provide.                 

Applying this rise, the highest new rate will be in Harrogate, where the annual permit will be £43.50.

Charges for the service have been frozen for most councils in recent years and in North Yorkshire they have fallen behind the regional average of £44 per year.

It is therefore proposed to bring all areas in the county in line with this and to charge £43.50 across the board.

On April 1 next year, the seven district and borough councils as well as the current county council will be replaced by a new single North Yorkshire Council.

NYCC’s executive member for business and economic development, Cllr Derek Bastiman, whose portfolio includes the management of waste disposal, said: “We recognise that the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on residents and the need to be fair to everyone when looking to raise any fee or charge.

Cllr Derek Bastiman (Image: NYCC)

“In this instance, the picture across the whole county is not the same and in some areas people who do not want this service are paying for it.

“This is a service people choose to opt into and it is important that we are clear on the need for it to pay for itself, alongside our commitment to continue to provide it to those residents who would like to receive it.”

NYCC’s executive members will be asked to agree the new rate when members meet on January 10, 2023.

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