Charges for garden waste bin collections in the Gedling borough are going up again due to rising council costs.
Gedling Borough Council says it began a review into its charges after it overspent on its waste department over two consecutive years.
The service was expanded with more staff members to collect the growing number of garden waste bins, but the council says it had been using temporary agency staff to fill the gaps.
The authority says costs have increased further due to the increasing number of customers, the changes in relation to employers’ National Insurance contributions under the Labour Government’s latest budget, increases in insurance costs and the need for permanent staffing to support the service.
According to the council, charges had initially been set at £42 for the year beginning April 2025. However a new report says charges have been reviewed again due to rising costs.
Charges will now be £45 from April, while an additional bin will cost £23 instead of £21.
“Whilst lower prices of £42 and £21 for an additional bin were previously agreed over six months ago, these charges would not be sufficient to meet increased cost pressures,” documents say.
The authority says costs of the service had increased by £85,000, and the new charges would bring in additional income of £57,400.
Back in 2023 charges had stood at £38, it was then increased to £40 the following year.
Cllr Mike Adams (Con), who represents Trent Valley, said: “As local Gedling Conservatives, my group and I believe that increasing the garden waste collection charge by 12.5 per cent is another example of the Labour Group’s failure to understand the financial pressures facing local residents.
“A rise from £40 to £45 may seem modest, but for many families, it is yet another burden in an already difficult climate.
“We believe the council should be finding ways to support residents, not increase costs, and we will continue to challenge any proposals that place unnecessary financial strain on our community.”
The Labour-run council says not changing the fees for the new financial year and leaving them as originally approved would not have covered the increase in service costs.
It said prices had been benchmarked against other borough councils, including Rushcliffe, which is increasing charges from £45 to £47, and Broxtowe, which is increasing its charges from £43 to £45.
Whilst I am an advocate for trying to recycle as much as possible, I find Gedling Borough Councils recycling ability leaves a lot to be desired. The limited items they can currently recycle is ridiculous, and has not improved in over 10+ years. The constant increase in the price of a garden waste bin will mean a lot more people ditching this bin and putting all their garden waste into the black bin. Not really a good move for GBC as this will further reduce their income from this service.
Just another way to fleece the public along with rising council tax bills & charging for parking at Gedling county park, Wow what a council