Sunderland's controversial brown bin charge rakes in £572,000 this year already - with number set to rise

Sunderland City Council said 17,603 people had paid the brown bin charge by Friday March 16, the nominal deadline to ensure they receive the full round of collections in 2019.

At a fee of £32.50, that works out at £572,097 going into the council coffers.

More than 30,000 households paid the controversial charge last year, but council chiefs said the amount of sign-ups for the same period in 2018 was only 17,369 so therefore there has been an increase, with many more expected to sign up in the coming weeks and months.

If a similar figure signs up this year, it will bring in £975,000 for the council.

The charge was first introduced in Sunderland in 2016, when people were charged £25, as a means of helping the cash-strapped council make ends meet - but the move prompted an angry reaction from some.

Three years on, the fee is now £32.50 for 17 collections of their garden waste, from April – November 2019.Figures released today show almost two thirds of councils now charge for garden waste collections, with some levying fees of up to £80.

The Government has, however, set out plans for such charges to be dropped - though councils have warned that if such rules are forced on them by Government, they must receive funding to cope wit providing free collections.

Councillor Amy Wilson, portfolio holder for Environment and Transport on Sunderland City Council's ruling cabinet, said: "Many thanks to everybody who has signed up for this year’s brown bin service.

"It’s only £1.91 per collection, if you receive all the collections, residents can sign up throughout the year but there’s no discount if you’ve already missed some collections.

"The first collections start Tuesday 2 April.

"Items which can be recycled in this service include grass cuttings, weeds and dead plants, twigs and small branches, hedge clippings, cut flowers and houseplants, shrub prunings and leaves.

"Those who sign up receive a pack in the post with a sticker for their bin to identify to collection crews that they have paid for the service."For more information and to sign up for collections, using a debit or credit card, go to www.sunderland.gov.uk/gardenwaste