Citizens wishing to have their garden waste collected in a clean and convenient way can sign up to Birmingham City Council’s 2017 service at a reduced rate if they order online. The annual subscription charge is £40 for 20 fortnightly collections from early March to late November/early December – with a discount of £2 for all orders (online), reducing the cost to just £38. As standard, subscribers will use a 240 litre bin with a brown lid. Residents can make multiple orders if they need more than one bin for their garden waste. Only households whose properties have been assessed as unsuitable for wheelie bins will be eligible for an alternative sack collection (clear sacks for 2017).
In a change from 2016, for a small number of residents collections of garden waste may not be on the same day as other recycling and rubbish collections.
This change is being made as a result of increasing sales meaning that it is no longer operationally efficient to stick rigidly to the old system of keeping everyone’s collection day linked to when their regular rubbish and recycling bins are collected. Details for individual subscribers will be confirmed during the purchase process.
If an existing customer’s subscription is not renewed, their garden waste will not be collected and the council will make arrangements to retrieve wheelie bins from their property.
Cllr Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, said: “Over the last three years we’ve seen subscriber numbers steadily increase, which is an endorsement that we are offering a simple, convenient way for people to get rid of their garden waste.
“Over that period we have frozen the subscription fee but have now reached the point where our costs in year four mean we need to make a modest increase to the charge.
“And by breaking the link with collection days for rubbish and recycling bins we are being smarter with our route-planning, which will make the service more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and improve reliability of the rounds.”
Subscriptions at the discounted rate of £38 can be made through the council’s website at www.birmingham.gov.uk/gardenwaste or at £40 by calling the contact centre on 0121 303 1112. Payment can only be made by debit/credit card and please note telephone lines may be busy during peak hours.
