More than 40,000 households who subscribe to the Council’s garden waste collections will see the cost of the service reduced by £5 for the coming year.
The discount is in recognition of the disruption brown bin subscribers experienced, due to Covid-19, over a few weeks in the spring of 2020.
Rotherham Council's Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety Cllr Emma Hoddinott said: “Our bin operatives and waste teams did a fantastic job throughout Covid-19, but when a number of staff members became ill, and others had to self-isolate or shield last spring, suspending the garden waste service was sadly unavoidable.”
The £5 per household discount will apply to anyone who subscribed in 2020/21, and who renews their subscription for the coming year’s service – which begins in March 2021. The discount will be applied automatically for those who already pay by annual Direct Debit.
For new subscribers, the cost for the annual subscription has been frozen at £40 for the first brown bin, and £31 a second bin.
Cllr Emma Hoddinott said: “We’re pleased to be able to give the £5 discount to all the residents who subscribed to the service this year, as a thank you for their patience during the Covid-19 disruption.
“Rotherham gardeners who used our brown bin collections recycled more than 11,000 tonnes of garden waste last year. We continue to do everything we can to keep the cost of this service down, so that as many people as possible are able to access it.”
Residents who don’t want to renew their brown bin subscription for the coming year will be able to apply for a £5 refund instead. Details of how to claim this will be made available in March 2021, once the current year’s brown bin collections have finished.
Rotherham residents can find out more about the service and renew their brown bin subscription, or sign-up for the first time, at www.rotherham.gov.uk/garden-waste