Rutland County Council has revised its charging for green waste for 2024/25.

A charge of £60 a year will be charged to empty green waste bins, an increase of £10.

Speaking at its cabinet meeting (November 14), Coun Andrew Johnson (Lib Dem) said: "The green waste charges were introduced in 2018/19 in order for the council to recover the costs of providing a collection service to residents.

"The total expenditure for 2023/24 for green waste collections is forecast to be £620,000 and we have 12,649 subscriptions at the current charge of £50 per bin. This means it costs Rutland County Council £49.02 per bin to collect the green waste."

As well as inflation costs, the council will pay more for extending its contract with Biffa.

Compared with other local authorities, Rutland's charges are around the lower-middle in terms of costs per bin.

Melton charges £85, Northants £55, Daventry £55, and Harborough £61. The cost in neighbouring South Kesteven District Council for 2023/24 is £49.

Coun Johnson said subscription numbers were not expected to drop, but if they did, the price per household would need to increase for the council to recover costs.

He added: "Everybody regrets the fact that we need to increase charges, but the council has no other income that it can use to cover these costs, so it is important that having set a principle, that all the costs should be recovered."

Leader, Coun Gale Waller (Liberal Democrat) added: "I think it is very important that when we are providing a service for which we are entitled to charge, that we charge what it costs us to provide the service, that we don't put in hidden subsidies and that the £60 per bin annual charge is the actual cost."

She said people could always take waste to Rutland's civil amenities site, rather than having a green bin. Fly tipping in Rutland has decreased, the cabinet was told.

Households receiving council tax support are eligible for a 25 per cent discount, lowering the new annual charge to £45.

Members voted unanimously to increase the bin charge to £60 for the financial year 2024/25.