The Borough Council has taken the difficult decision to charge a yearly fee of £35 for fortnightly garden waste collections from April. The collections will become a year-round service, so there is no longer a winter break in collections. Limited help is available if you are in receipt of Discretionary Council Tax Support.

You can apply for the scheme online at the Council’s web site, by contacting their Customer Service Team on 0116 288 8961 or by visiting their Customer Service Centre at 40 Bell Street, Wigston, LE18 1AD.

Why is this happening?

Councils don’t legally have to offer a free garden waste service. In the past few decades, most councils have provided the service because local residents wanted it and the councils had the funds to do it.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council was one of the first councils to offer kerbside recycling collections. By being one of the first, the Liberal Democrats were able to set up the council’s own sorting centre. This allowed the service to make money, which was used to help provide the funds for extra services like the free garden waste collections.

Theresa May’s Conservative government continue to make huge cuts to local council funding and Council Tax is not allowed to be increased enough to cover this loss.

As a result Conservative-run Leicestershire County Council decided to change how they funded recycling, which has meant Oadby and Wigston won’t be able to keep the recycling sorting centre.

This, together with cuts to Oadby and Wigston’s money from the government has meant that the council can no longer afford to keep garden waste collections free.

What are the alternatives?

County Council refuse and recycling tips take garden waste. You can also compost at home: Leicestershire County Council recommend Get Composting for subsidised composters.

Help for those on low incomes

In certain cases, you may be able to get help with the cost of the garden waste charge if you are in receipt of Discretionary Council Tax Support. Please contact Oadby and Wigston’s Customer Service Team on 0116 288 8961 if you think this applies to you.