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Price Hike For Isle Of Wight Garden Waste Collection

The proposed price hike for garden lovers, signed up to the Isle of Wight Council’s green waste subscription, has been approved.

Ahead of renewals to subscriptions in September the price will rise from £6 to £8 a month, an extra £24 a year. It increases the price of the fortnightly garden waste collections by a third, from £72 to £96.

The original price of the scheme was £60 meaning prices have gone up by 60 per cent since it was introduced in 2017. However, subscribers will not face another price increase in the next two years.

Cllr Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, told fellow cabinet members the service would still be competitive with others on the Island and the increase would give the authority the ability to extend the service.

There are currently more than 10,400 people signed up for the scheme but 1,200 people on the waiting list.

A second collection vehicle was introduced to the scheme, but the price increase would increase commercial viability for a third, the council said.

Cllr Bacon told cabinet it may not be a popular proposal, to push up the prices, but it has been carefully considered.

The £2 increase, while approved, was met with some concern from Hunnyhill and Parkhurst Cllr Andrew Garratt who asked cabinet to consider the impact decisions may have on people in poverty in future discussions as gardening was a free activity for many, including those on low incomes.

He said the council should not be excluding people from services like this due to their income and while a couple of pounds may seem a small amount, for those in poverty it could have a significant impact on their household budget.

Cllr Bacon assured Cllr Garratt it had been very much part of the consideration.

The decision was made this month to allow subscription renewal, at the higher price, from the new year.

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