Opponents to Huntingdonshire’s plan to introduce a £57.50 yearly charge to collect green bins say they’re ‘angry’ over the proposal and it would ‘disproportionately impact’ low-income families. 

However, the leadership at Huntingdonshire District Council has said the plans are the “least worst option” to protect key services that support people in the area. 

The district council is proposing to introduce a garden waste subscription service from April 1, 2024. 

The current plans propose a £57.50 annual charge for people to continue having their green bins collected. 

Additional bins are proposed to cost £30 each, with each household allowed a maximum of four bins. 

A petition has been set up opposing the new charge, which at the time of writing has received over 3,500 signatures. 

READ MORE: Huntingdonshire: Petition to stop green bin charge proposed by HDC

The plans were discussed by councillors at an overview and scrutiny joint panel meeting this week (June 6). 

Cllr Steve Criswell (Conservative) said he was “angry” about the planned charge, and how the proposals had been put together. 

He said introducing a charge for an existing service was creating a “tax” that would “disproportionately affect older people whose main pleasure in life is their garden”. 

Cllr Simon Bywater (Conservative) said the charge would place a “disproportionate burden” on people who have low incomes. 

He said: “The £57 charge will create additional financial burden on families who often struggle to make ends meet and may force them to make difficult choices.” 

READ MORE: Huntingdonshire District Council planning to charge for green bins 

Cllr Stephen Cawley (Conservative) challenged that the change would lead to a reduction in carbon emissions, highlighting that more people would be driving with their garden waste to recycling centres instead. 

Cllr Cawley argued the green waste could just end up being put in people’s black bins and end up in landfills. He said the methane gas then created from this was “dangerous compared to CO2”. 

Cllr Charlotte Lowe said there should be a public consultation on the proposed charge and suggested it was not the right time to introduce it due to the cost-of-living crisis. 

Cllr Martin Hassall (Liberal Democrat), executive councillor for corporate and shared services, told councillors the main driver of the plans was financial as he said the authority was facing a £1.4million deficit without the charge. 

READ MORE: Conservative group on HDC says Green Bin charge plan is 'madness' 

He said even with the proposed charge there was still a “£8.3million jeopardy” due to uncertainties around funding. 

Cllr Hassall said there would be benefits of the charge, including being able to continue the service, and also reducing the carbon emissions the authority produces. 

He said: “I do realise this proposal is not going to be popular with all our residents. Part of being a councillor is not only to make the easy popular decisions, but all about making the hard and difficult decisions. 

“I think this is one of the hard and difficult decisions we must make to preserve long term financial stability for the council. This is preferable to discontinuing this service.” 

READ MORE: Huntingdonshire: Petition to stop green bin charge proposed by HDC

Cllr Brett Mickelburgh (Liberal Democrat), executive councillor for finance and resources, said this was the “least worst option”. 

He said green waste collection was not a statutory service the council had to provide, and said the authority had “to a certain extent” come to the end of its ability to cover the cost of it. 

Cllr Mickelburgh said he wanted to make sure the district council could spend money on its statutory services to help people who are “three days away from Christmas about to be thrown out by their landlord”. 

He said: “In this example I have just given, we were able to house them in a hotel at short notice, because the team was well resourced and had funds for those statutory services to protect people. 

“That is why the charge is here, that is why we have to be doing this. It is not popular, it is not fair, but I would much rather be doing this to protect those services and give people green bins they can choose to pay for.” 

However, opposition councillors accused the joint administration of using “scare tactics” when presenting the proposals. 

Cllr Nathan Hunt (Liberal Democrat) said he represented some of the poorest areas in the district and he was “exceptionally concerned” about the plans, but said he “unfortunately” saw it as necessary. 

However, he proposed an additional recommendation should be made to cabinet to complete a review of the impact of the charge on people with low incomes. He said he wanted to see this concern kept “front and centre”. 

A majority of councillors voted in favour of making this recommendation to cabinet. 

Opposition councillors argued there were many things not currently known about how the charge would impact people and said more information was needed before a decision should be made. 

Cllr Andrew Jennings proposed the committee should recommend for cabinet to delay the scheme for a year to “properly consider the scheme” and create “more detailed reports looking at impact assessments”. However, a majority of councillors voted against this proposal. 

The district council’s cabinet is due to meet on July 18, to decide whether to introduce the new charge next year.