Householders are being encouraged to sign up early to garden waste subscriptions as current ones end soon.

Cherwell District Council will be accepting registrations for garden waste licences for the 2024 to 2025 subscription year from Monday, December 4.

Green-fingered householders are invited to apply for an annual subscription licence of £49 per brown bin, covering them for a fixed calendar year from March 1 2024 to February 28, 2025, regardless of when they subscribe.

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Councillor Andrew McHugh, portfolio holder for cleaner and greener communities, said: “Since its inception, our garden waste service has proven very popular with residents in the district, and we’re thrilled to see so many people making the most of spending time outside, tending to their gardens and recycling the resulting waste.

“Gardening is a great way of getting out in the fresh air and for your mental and physical wellbeing. The garden waste service is a reliable and cost-effective way for people to dispose of their garden clippings in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

“We have been looking at the cost of the scheme moving forward, and have looked at all possible options, taking the cost of living rises that have been affecting residents into account.

“Unfortunately, these same rises have affected the council, and due to the significantly high inflation, particularly the increases in fuel prices, we have had to make the decision to implement a slight increase in our prices.

“We have striven to keep our fees reasonable and fair, especially compared to many other councils, while ensuring we maintain a quality service.”

Since the separate, paid-for brown bin service was launched in March 2022, over 40,000 of the district’s 70,000 homes have taken out a subscription, with over 1400 tonnes of garden waste collected a month on average during the warmer months of the year.

New customers and those who renew will receive a welcome pack in the post, including the all-important subscription licence label.

To enable council staff to promptly remove the extra dry recycling and general waste produced over the Christmas period, brown bins will not be emptied between Tuesday, December 26 and Friday, January 5.

To find out more about recycling services in the district and to purchase a garden waste subscription for your brown bin, visit cherwell.gov.uk/Recycling.

Garden waste is the accumulated plant matter from gardening activities which involve cutting or removing vegetation.

This can include cutting the lawn, weed removal, hedge trimming or pruning consisting of lawn clippings. leaf matter, wood and soil.

Garden waste can often be composted.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1