Decision details

Date of Decision:

17^th December, 2025

Title:

Garden Waste Pricing 2026-2027 and Discount

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Andrew Bramidge

Strategic Director Regeneration and Environment

Details of Specific Delegation

or

Delegation contained in the relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Section 4C6: Strategic Director Of Regeneration And Environment – Delegated Executive Functions

The Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment is authorised to discharge executive functions for:-

1. Community Safety and Street Scene

(d) Waste and Street Scene

Appendix 9: Sub Scheme of Delegation - Strategic Director of Regeneration of Environment

4. In respect of in-house service providers: The authorisation of individual variations.

Decision:

Fees and Charges:

To set the fees for the garden waste subscription service for 2026/27 at:

·       £53 for the first bin and £43 for a second bin, representing a price increase of 7.5% to cover operational costs of the service.

For customers who have had a subscription in the current year, and choose to renew, the prices will be frozen at the 2025/26 price of £49 for the first bin and £40 for the second bin. The mechanism for delivering this will be through an increased discount which is effectively an additional £4 (or £3.65 for Rothercard customers) for the first bin and £3 for a second bin on top of the goodwill gesture referenced below.

The discounted rate for Rothercard customers as introduced in 2024/2025 will be increased to 15% in 2026/2027 and will be set at £45.05 (for new customers) for the 1^st bin only.

Goodwill gesture following service disruption during the 2025/26 garden waste collection period:

i)               Discount

As a result of service disruption throughout 2025/26, leading to four missed collections, Customers who subscribed to and paid for the 2025/26 garden waste collection service will be entitled to either:

• a fixed discount of £10 per bin against the total cost of re-subscribing to the garden waste collection service 2026/27. This discount will be automatically applied against the cost of the subscription during the renewal process.  For customers who pay by annual Direct Debit, the discount will also be automatically applied prior to the Direct Debit being presented for payment around 1^st February 2026.
• a fixed refund of £10 per bin for those customers who do not want to renew their subscription. 

Refund process:

• The ability to request a refund will be made available from 2^nd March 2026 until the 30^th September 2026 for those not renewing the service.
• The refund will need to be requested by the original payee, who will also need to provide bank details
• Choosing to request a refund is considered to be a cancellation of the garden waste collection service. The Council will need to collect the brown bin(s) from the customers address before a refund is approved.
• Should the customer later decide to re-subscribe to the garden waste collection service, they will need to apply as a new customer and will not be eligible for the £10 discount.

Reasons for the Decision:

The charges for the garden waste service for 2026/27 need to be set by December 2025 in order that the subscription service can go live on the Councils website in December. This enables direct debit notices to be issued within the required period for those customers signed up to automatic renewal, in advance of the 2026/27 collection period. The decision to freeze the pricing for the 2026/27 subscription period was due to service disruption in 2025/26.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

It was not considered appropriate to increase the garden waste subscription fees for 2026–2027 as the service has experienced disruption during the current year. Freezing the charges ensures that customers are not penalized for circumstances beyond their control and helps maintain confidence in the service. The decision also reflects the principle that charges should be fair and proportionate to the level of service delivered. Actual financial outcome will depend on the balance between service costs, any cost increases, and customer demand.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Cabinet Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

None

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision Maker if they sit as a Cabinet appointed representative to an outside body which relates to the decision:

None

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Reports or parts of reports relevant to the decision being taken:

None