Dundee residents will have to pay more next year to have their garden bins emptied.
Accusations that an increase in the “garden tax” was actually a stealth tax failed to reverse plans to increase the annual charge for the brown garden bins from £35 to £40.
The increase was approved by city councillors on Monday night after debate and a vote. Councillors heard the increase will raise an extra £100,000 for the council in the next financial year.
However, despite the recommendation to the council’s policy and resources committee on Monday night that the increase should be approved, there were two amendments against the bid.
Move to lower the charge
Liberal Democrat councillor for the West End, Fraser Macpherson, moved an amendment that instead of being increased the garden bin collection fee should actually drop to £30 per annum.
Meantime Labour leader on the council, Kevin Keenan moved that the current £35 per annum charge should remain.
Mr Macpherson said the proposed increase was a 14% hike in the cost and he asked how the council could justify levying that on residents.
He said: “I would move that the cost actually be reduced to £30. An increase in the bin fee undermines our recycling policy.
“I fear this increase will result in people not using their garden bin but put garden waste in their grey bins instead.”
‘Stealth tax’
Moving that the bin tax stay the same at £35 Labour’s Kevin Keenan said: “This increase is just another stealth tax on residents.
“I would never have anticipated that we would be looking for a 14% increase to this fee.”
The council’s head of environmental services, Tony Boyle said the cost was required to increase to cover increases in administering the service.
Greater uptake
Mr Boyle said: “There has been a greater than expected uptake of this service therefore it is going to cost more to run.
“We had expected 17,000 people to subscribe to this but in fact 24,000 people have signed up for this service.
“This has resulted in increased costs in terms of staff, transportation, extra bins etc.
“It is for this reason that the cost of the bin charges to residents must increase.”
After two votes councillors voted by 16 votes to10 to increase the cost to £40. Two councillors abstained.”
First price increase
The fee – branded a “garden tax” by critics – was introduced in 2019/20 to cover the cost of picking up garden waste including grass cuttings and hedge trimmings.
“The collection of garden waste is not a statutory service that Dundee City Council has to provide to householders.
This is the first price increase since the charge was introduced in 2019/20.
The council will open registration for the scheme from next month, in advance of the collections starting in March.
