News

Shepway residents are being asked to fork out extra cash to have their garden waste bin emptied and new subscribers to the service will also have to dig deep in their pockets to stump up £18 for their brown top bin.

The controversial charge for collecting garden waste will begin in April, after Shepway District Council's cabinet agreed the measures.

Householders signing up to the scheme will pay £35 a year plus the cost of the brown-topped bin although people already using the system are to be offered a discount for the first year, paying £25 if they sign up before March 1.

Residents deciding to dump the fortnightly collection can opt out and return their bin to the council.

Cllr Rory Love, cabinet member for the environment, reportedly said the fee was necessary if the collection scheme was to survive.

Garden waste is collected in two lorries reaching the end of their useful lives. To buy new ones would cost £250,000, while leasing would cost about £48,000 a year.