Almost 300 already signed up for new garden waste trial

Almost 300 people have now signed up for a new garden waste collection trial in Brighton and Hove, which starts next month.

The service is initially available to 23,000 households in parts of Coldean, Hollingbury, Hollingdean, Patcham, Preston and Withdean. To find out if the service is operating in your area, and to sign up to the new scheme, go to www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/gardenwaste

Residents pay £52 a year to have garden waste collected in 240 litre wheelie bins from their properties every two weeks. The waste is transported to a facility in East Sussex where it is converted to compost.

Anyone joining the scheme by 30 April will have their bin delivered in the first two weeks of May. Collections start from mid-May and the annual subscription begins from the first collection.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the city’s environment committee, said: “We’re pleased to be offering this service which residents have been asking for. Many have told us that they sometimes have too much garden waste to compost at home. The new service is part of our commitment to providing a tailor-made and streamlined waste collections service to our residents and will also help increase recycling rates in the city.”

It is hoped that once the initial scheme is established the service will be offered to other areas of Brighton & Hove where residents have space to store a wheelie bin. Residents currently not covered by the trial can register their interest online which will help the council decide where to roll out the scheme next.