We have reproduced below details of the consultation. If you want to have your say on the council's proposals click on www.durham.gov.uk to take part in the on-line survey or call 03000 266 112 for a paper copy of the survey.
Consultation on review of garden waste collections
This consultation gives you the chance to have your say on proposed changes to the garden waste collection service in County Durham which include the introduction of a charge for the service.
Timetable
The consultation began on Friday 20 September and ends on Monday 28 October 2013.
How to get involved
You can have your say in the following ways:
- Read the background information and complete the online survey below.
- Call us on the contact number at the bottom of this page for a paper copy of the survey.
Background information
We currently provide a free, fortnightly garden waste collection service to 151,700 properties in County Durham between spring and autumn. A further 4,200 households in the Teesdale area also receive a free collection service from Teesdale Conservation Volunteers (trading as Rotters) who work in partnership with the County Council. In 2012, around 24,500 tonnes of garden waste were collected by us and Rotters.
We have carried out a review of the garden waste collection service. The existing service does not cover all households with gardens. In addition, we need to save £933,000 from the waste management service in line with the council’s medium term financial plan. The County Council is continuing to face large reductions in funding and is required to make savings of almost £190 million for the period 2011 to 2017.
The review has concluded that we need to introduce a charge for garden waste collections for the service to continue in future. This will affect all households with a garden, particularly those households that currently receive a garden waste collection service.
Proposals for garden waste collections in 2014
Proposed collection area
We are proposing to offer the service to 35,000 additional households in the county which have previously not had the chance to join the scheme. The proposed changes will also mean that households in some very rural areas will no longer receive the service. 
Garden waste - proposed collection boundary.pdf (1 page, 7735kb) is a map that shows the areas of the county where we are proposing to offer garden waste collections from 2014.
Garden waste - proposed collection boundary.pdf (1 page, 7735kb) is a map that shows the areas of the county where we are proposing to offer garden waste collections from 2014.Introducing a charge for the service
We are proposing to introduce an annual charge of £20 for 16 fortnightly collections of garden waste between April and November.
Residents who sign up for the service and pay the annual fee will receive a sticker for their garden waste bin. Residents who haven’t previously been supplied with a garden waste bin but wish to sign up for the service will be issued with a new bin with sticker on payment of the annual fee. The bin collection crews will be able to identify which households have subscribed to the service by the sticker on the bin. Details will also be logged on the collection vehicle’s electronic system. Residents can be provided with more than one bin. There will be a charge for additional bins.
Residents who choose not to sign up for the service but who have previously been supplied with a bin for garden waste will be able to have the existing bin removed on request.
Have your say
We would like your views on the proposals for the garden waste collection service. Please complete our Garden waste online survey.
