SOME local authorities are charging up to £100 a year for garden waste collections, new figures uncovered by the BBC Shared Data Unit have revealed.

Of the 368 local authorities in the UK which offer regular kerbside collections of domestic garden waste, 217 (almost 60 per cent) charge annually.

Looking specifically at Wales, of the country’s 22 local authorities just two do not currently offer a regular kerbside garden waste service – including Conwy in North Wales.

The county does offer requestable services and plans to introduce a chargeable service later this year.

Of the remaining 20 authorities, 12 do not have an annual charge (60 per cent) – which includes the counties of Anglesey and Wrexham.

However, Wrexham Council is set to introduce a charge of £25 per year to empty green waste bins from April 1, 2020.

Cllr David Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “This was a really difficult decision the council made in order to deliver this service and to protect other key frontline services. Residents have been hugely supportive of our recycling drives since 2003 and we know this may seem like a backward step.

“Charges for green bins were not something we wished to introduce, and this council’s commitment was to introduce the lowest possible charge we could at £25 per green bin, which is one of the lowest in England and Wales.”

“Introducing a charge for green waste is in line with the Welsh Government’s Blue Print on Waste and the last few years our environmental grant which supports recycling initiatives has continued to be reduced year on year, although our 70 per cent target remains.”

Wrexham Council also say that they are committed to recycling and reducing waste and residents can continue to use one of three HRC sites free of charge where free compost is also available.

The average annual charge of the authorities that do not provide a free collection is £34

Areas with the least expensive annual charges include Flintshire at £30 and Denbighshire at £24.

Steve Jones, Chief Officer Streetscene and Transportation said: “Flintshire County Council do charge a fee for the collection of domestic garden waste as recommended in the Welsh Government collections blueprint. With the current collection model Flintshire remain one of the top performing local authorities in Wales for Recycling.”

Critics of garden waste charges include Anthony O’Sullivan who is the managing director of the Gardeners Club, a free-to-join online community for everyone with an interest in gardening.

He said: “UK gardeners are increasingly being punished with a quiet green-garden tax which seems to go against every other positive environmental initiative that the UK is trying to promote.

“UK councils are increasingly charging residents to dispose of green garden waste, which for many will result in a lack of enthusiasm to keep their gardens looking good, working as they should and potentially increasing the demand for alternative ‘care free’ gardens based around decking, patios, concrete and worst still… plastic artificial grass!

“So, whilst the rest of the world is encouraging us all to reduce our carbon footprints and generally live a better environmental way of life, why are UK councils doing the opposite?”