Pay for garden waste collection or else is the message residents are getting from a Conwy council consultation.

Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) have opened a public consultation asking residents for their views on the potential charge for garden waste collection.

The garden waste recycling collection service currently costs £620,000 a year and CCBC are expecting this cost to rise next time the service is tendered.

A council spokesperson, in a statement, said: “This is no longer affordable and we are considering either stopping the service or charging to cover some or all of the costs.”

Other councils in the area including Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Flintshire already charge for the collection of garden waste.

The consultation is available on the CCBC website and in public libraries now. The council will also be distributing a limited number of paper copies to randomly selected households.

But residents have said the consultation is "flawed" and CCBC have already made up their mind on what they are going to do.

The only two options in the consultation survey are to pay for the garden waste collection or not have it at all.

Robert Lomas, a Conwy county resident, said: "So it is obvious that continuing the service as it currently is, is not an option.

"The information given details the cost of operating the current service but gives no details of the income generated by selling on the compost produced.

"What is the point of having a consultation when the pre-decided options are pay up or else.

"This is autocracy not democracy and if the purpose of the consultation is to be considered genuine then it should be re-run with a genuine range of options available to the public including maintaining the service in its current format."

Debbie Wareham, another Conwy county resident, added: "The survey on the CCBC website is flawed.

"Question 2 says: would you prefer the garden waste service to be scrapped? or would you prefer to keep it and be charged?

"Then it says select the first or second option. There is no option for saying keep existing service without charge, hence that is not an acceptable survey."

The closing date for residents to give their views is April 5 with a decision to be made on the future of the service soon after.

Conwy residents could soon be forced to pay for the collection of garden waste.