No local authority in the UK charges more to get started with a garden waste bin than Reading Borough Council (RBC), an investigation by the BBC Shared Data Unit has revealed.

The £111.10 combined cost of purchasing a bin and the annual collection fee is higher than 407 local authorities.

But the council says most members never had to pay for a bin as they got them before the charge was introduced.

The statistics have been revealed a week after the council announced it was introducing a food waste bin to improve recycling rates from next autumn.

 “Shocking”

Rob White, Green Party councillor, said: “It is shocking to hear that Reading residents are paying more than any other area in the country.

“We believe it is putting people off using the service and meaning more waste which could be recycled is being landfilled or incinerated instead.

“At 32 per cent Reading’s recycling rate is appalling and one of the worst in the country. We will keep up the pressure for the council to do better on recycling and look after the planet.”

How does Reading compare to the rest of the UK?

RBC charges £51.50 to purchase a green bin and a £60 annual fee.

This means Reading residents pay £111.10 for their first year with a garden waste bin, more than any other authority in the UK.

The next highest authority in the UK is East Hampshire which charges £97 in the first year.

A second bin costs a further £51.10 to purchase so if you want to kick-start your garden waste collection with two bins you will pay £162.10 in your first year.

Only six councils charge more in the UK.

Things get a bit better for gardeners after the first year, however, as the £60 annual charge for one bin is 27th highest in the UK.

Reading do not charge an extra annual fee for a second bin, which means if you have two bins you get a better deal than around 130 other councils.

However, Reading’s charge for purchasing the bins is where your pockets will be hit hardest.

Only Canterbury charge a higher one-off cost than Reading to deliver a first bin and only Staffordshire Moorlands charge more to get a second.

The combined total of £103 to buy two bins is higher than any other council.

We would charge a lot less because we want people to take part”

Lib Dem councillor Ricky Duveen said: “I am not quite sure why it should cost more in Reading than elsewhere. I am a bit bemused.

“I think for garden waste we would charge a lot less because we want more people to take part. You are driving people away from using the service.”

Conservatives councillors in Reading are also opposed to the council’s scheme and voted against the council’s budget this year partly due the increase in garden waste charges.

What is the benefit to the council?

In 2017 the council introduced £50 a year charges for green bins and £15 for green bags for the first time, claiming it needed to cover the £300,000 cost of green waste collections.

This year, the charges have gone up to £60 a year for bins and £20 a year for bags.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act forecast the council’s rise will generate £850,026 in total revenue this year and make £441,636 in profit.

Reading Chronicle:

The Labour-run authority made a profit of £323,298 last year.

Surplus revenue from the garden waste collection service is used to re-invest into the domestic waste service.

The council’s view – “Good value for money”

Cllr Tony Page, Lead member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said the service “represents good value for money”.

He said: “A vast majority of households who are members of the scheme will have had their green bins for many years and will only be paying the annual collection fee.

“The £60 annual charge allows two bins per household to be collected while other councils in the area charge per bin.

“3,880 customers have taken advantage of the offer of having a second bin emptied for no extra cost, with 228 households requesting a second bin just this year.

“The £51.10 one-off charge for a green bin includes a £15 delivery fee.

“Residents with smaller gardens can pay just £11.35 for a green bag and £20 per year for collection. Discounts are also available for households that receive council tax support.

“RBC provided the discretionary garden waste collection service free of charge for 10 years but was forced to introduce an annual charge in 2016 due to severe national funding cuts and budget pressures.”

National picture - should councils charge for a garden waste bin?

Councillor David Renard, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “Ultimately, garden waste collection has to be paid for by someone.

“It’s only fair that those households which have gardens and generate the waste pay for the service.”

However, Anthony O’Sullivan, managing director of Gardeners Club called the fees “a quiet green-garden tax which seems to go against every other positive environmental initiative that the UK is trying to promote”.