From April 2021, Stratford-on-Avon District Council will be introducing a charge for the collection of garden waste.
The current cost of providing the service free for all 61,386 properties in the district is £1,152,525 a year.
The introduction of a charge is part of a package of measures to offset a cut in funding from central Government.
Cllr Ian Shenton, Operations Portfolio Holder at Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: "The subscription service is being introduced as we can no longer afford to collect garden waste free of charge.
"Unlike household waste and recycling councils are not required by law to collect garden waste free-of-charge and not everyone uses the service. Making it self-funding will enable the service to continue for only those who want it.
"We were looking to introduce this in June this year, but made a decision to defer bringing this in due to the pandemic. But with the need to replace lost income and the financial impact of the pandemic, we can't delay this any longer and need to bring in revenue to protect vital services.
"We think the new subscription service offers a good deal for gardeners and is the fairest option because only those using the service would be asked to pay."
The annual charge is £40 for each green bin, however, if residents sign up between 11 January and 28 February 2021, there is an early bird offer of £35 per green bin.
Householders who pay to have their garden waste taken away will be issued with a non-transferable permit to attach to their green bin.
Householders who choose not to take part in the scheme have the choice of home composting or taking their garden waste to a Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Warwickshire County Council offer discounted home composting bins on their website: Composting - Warwickshire County Council
Cllr Ian Shenton, also pointed out that: "These proposals are separate from the ongoing contract negotiations that are currently taking place between ourselves and Warwick District - looking at joint refuse and recycling waste contract for the whole of south Warwickshire. Any of the changes proposed in a joint contract won't start until August 2022."
For more information please visit Garden Waste Service | Stratford-on-Avon District Council or email the Streetscene team: streetscene@stratford-dc.gov.uk
Work is also progressing on a joint refuse and recycling contract with Warwick District Council.
Both Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon District Councils are committed to improving their services for the residents of South Warwickshire and are investigating joint working and shared services. Management roles in ICT and Neighbourhood Services are already being shared across the two councils, as is the prospect of a joint Local Plan for our communities, to secure long-term benefits.
Combining waste collection under one contract, is the next service to be proposed for joint working by both councils. The contracts for both councils finish around the same time, which presents an opportunity to review procuring a combined service across the whole of South Warwickshire, serving 126,000 households.
A new contract would focus on achieving both environmental and financial benefits; encouraging residents to increase their household recycling, reduce residual waste and reduce the cost of treating and disposing of rubbish. In addition, it will support the ambition of both councils to achieve carbon-neutral status for their districts by 2030.
Part of the new contract proposals includes the introduction of a joint 123+ services - moving to a 3-weekly collection of residual waste to encourage further recycling. The next stage of the process, is the Full Council at Stratford District Council where this will be debated in December and if approved any proposed change in collection frequency will not commence until August 2022.
The new arrangements are aimed at increasing recycling, taking food waste out of the bins, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and keeping costs down.
