More than 15,000 households have already signed up for Middlesbrough’s new garden waste subscription service, and there’s still time to opt in
Middlesbrough Council is joining the majority of local authorities locally - and across England – by introducing an annual £40 charge for garden waste.
Residents across the town who have subscribed to the service have now started receiving their new 240 litre brown garden waste bin, ready for collections beginning later this month.
Old green bins will be emptied for the final time in the coming weeks and then removed from properties.
A letter will be delivered to households notifying residents of the date for that final collection, as well as an email to those who have signed up online.
The move to new brown bins means all three bins used in Middlesbrough are standardised and can be collected by the same type of refuse vehicle, increasing the resilience of the service.
Residents who would like to keep their green bin for composting can do so, by fixing a sign to the bin stating ‘keep’ when crews come to empty and remove them.
And it’s not too late for others to sign up to the service to take advantage of fortnightly collections for the season, which has been extended until November as part of the new offer.
Cllr Peter Gavigan, Executive Member for Environment at Middlesbrough Council, said: “We’re very encouraged by the number of people who have signed up to the new garden waste service and want to thank everyone who has subscribed.
“We are delivering information about the switch to every household affected by the changes in Middlesbrough and will follow up with a further letter to let people know when their last green bin collection will take place.”
The changes to bin collections were agreed as councillors voted in March to set a balanced budget for 2024/25 which included savings and income generation plans of £13.9m.
As part of the changes, Middlesbrough’s black refuse bins will be collected every fortnight, instead of weekly. There is no change to the fortnightly recycling service.
Thousands of households have already applied for a larger black refuse bin to prepare for the change to fortnightly collections, which will be introduced in July.
Households with three or more people are entitled to a larger, 240 litre bin and you can apply for one today.
Bin calendars showing residents the dates for refuse and recycling collections for the upcoming year are now available on the My Middlesbrough website, with garden waste collection dates being updated this month.
You can sign up to the garden waste service or apply for a new bin by visiting the recycling and rubbish section or calling 01642 726001.
Alternatively, staff at all of Middlesbrough Libraries and Community Hubs have been trained to help residents set up the service in person.