Like councils all over the country, Shropshire is facing an unprecedented financial pressure. We must make £62m of savings in 2024/25 to keep a balanced budget, and our plans include difficult decisions, including some that we've never wanted to make. 

We must look at other ways of creating income and making savings so that we can protect essential frontline services for those residents most in need.

We're planning to introduce an annual subscription fee for the collection of garden waste from properties in the Shropshire Council area. We're also considering reducing the number of household recycling centres in the county, or reducing their opening times. If you choose to pay an annual subscription fee we would continue to collect your garden bin every two weeks on your usual collection day.

Collecting garden waste isn’t an essential service that councils must provide statutorily, and around 80% of English councils already charge for this service; many have been doing so for several years. You would only pay for the service if you opt in. 

It is a statutory duty to provide household recycling centres, but legislation doesn’t specify how many this must be. The authority can decide what is reasonable for local circumstances.

We’re proposing an annual subscription charge of £52, or £1 a week, and you'd be able to sign up at any time of the year. You'd need one subscription for each garden bin that you'd like us to collect.

In this consultation we’re asking whether you'd be willing to pay more than this each year to help to ensure that our five household recycling centres remain open at the same times as they are now.

The survey takes around ten minutes to complete, and we'd like to hear as many people’s views as possible, including alternative suggestions. 

The survey can also be accessed at Shropshire Council’s main libraries and at our Shropshire Local facilities in Ludlow and Shrewsbury.

The consultation runs until 20 May 2024.

To have your say, click on the 'how to get involved' tab.

Find out more about this consultation on our frequently asked questions pages.

Who should respond?

Anyone living in Shropshire can respond. We especially encourage those who currently use the garden waste collection services regularly to let us know their thoughts, as well as those who will be especially impacted by the proposed changes to collections and household recycling centres.

I don’t like the proposals, can I complain?

The purpose of the consultation is to collect your feedback, whether negative or positive, on the proposals around garden waste collections and household recycling centres. If you don’t like the proposals, please complete a copy of the survey or contact us by email or post to let us know your thoughts. This feedback will be collated, analysed and the results reported to Cabinet for final decision. Shropshire Council’s complaints process should not be used for dissatisfaction about proposals, where a decision has yet to be made.

Documents

We have created an online survey inviting your feedback on the proposals.

Paper copies of the survey are available to complete in Shropshire’s main library branches.

You can also respond with any comments in writing:

Email: TellUs@shropshire.gov.uk
Post: Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate Shropshire SY2 6ND.

Are alternative versions available?

If you'd like a survey in an alternative format, please email TellUs@shropshire.gov.uk, or call our customer services team on 0345 678 9000 and explain any support you need to allow you to respond.

Find out more about the 2024/25 budget consultations.