Barking and Dagenham council has announced that they will be continuing with its Green Garden Waste subscription service for 2019/20.
The service is to be extended for the new two years, but will also be expanded to cover 19 collections a year at no extra cost to residents of the borough.
The council’s decision came following on from the results of a resident’s survey, which showed a desire for an increased number of collections. The added collections will help to accommodate the autumn leaf fall which many locals have experienced problems with previously.
The news also goes some way to increase Barking and Dagenham’s overall recycling rate in line with long-term targets for 2030 set by the Mayor of London.
Barking and Dagenham Council is one of the only London boroughs who currently offer a Green Garden Waste collection service.
Since April 2017, residents who wished to have their green garden waste collected were required to sign up for a fortnightly collection for two at a cost of £80, which covers operational costs. The service has been a success to date with over 7,900 households signing up during 2018.
Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Public Realm, said: “We are listening to what residents want when it comes to their Green Garden Waste collections, and I am pleased we are delivering a service that residents can continue to see a benefit from. Adding an extra three collections to the service will help local people to carry on doing their bit in helping us to produce less rubbish.
“I am committed to meeting the Mayor of London’s target for increasing our recycling rate to 50 per cent by 2030. By recycling, even more, green garden waste, we will be making good progress to achieve that goal.”
