WREXHAM Council have said the new £25 charge for emptying green bins was not a decision that was taken lightly and understand if people do not wish to pay for the service.

They have said that due to local government cuts in funding, they were left with no choice but to introduce the charge, which will come into effect next year.

The council has also offered advice to anyone who chooses not to pay for the service.

A statement on Wrexham Council’s website reads: “Many of you already know that we will be charging £25 per year to empty your green bin from April 1, 2020. It’s a decision that wasn’t taken lightly, but in light of continued and well-reported cuts to local government funding we have had no choice but to join other councils in charging for this discretionary service.

“To make sure that your green bin continues to be emptied from April 2020 you will need to pay online or by card over the telephone. We will let you know when you can do this later in the year as we’re currently setting up the systems to make this happen smoothly.

“If you are already paying for any additional green bins to be emptied, they will also cost £25.

“I don’t want to have a green bin anymore? If this is the case, we’ll pick it up. Just go online to MyAccount and either login or sign up to ask for it to be taken away. We’ll collect it, but it won’t be straight away so please be patient. If in the future, you change your mind and wish to pay to have a green bin emptied you will have to buy a new bin if you’ve already sent yours back.

“I don’t want to pay but want to keep my green bin? That’s fine. You can keep hold of it for the future, but we won’t empty it. If you do decide to pay for your green bin to be emptied in the future, you also won’t have to pay for a new green bin.

“There are alternatives to using a green bin. You can home compost or use one of our three Household Recycling Centres.

“We hope you will continue to have your green bin emptied by us as we want to see Wrexham’s recycling rates continue to increase year on year, but times are really hard, and we understand if you don’t wish to pay for this service.

“Introducing a charge for green waste is in line with the Welsh Government’s Blue Print on Waste and the last few years our environmental grant which supports recycling initiatives has continued to be reduced year on year, although our 70% target remains.

“The council are committed to recycling and reducing waste and residents can continue to use one of our three HRC sites free of charge where we also supply free compost, and this will continue into the future.”

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “This was a really difficult decision the council made in order to deliver this service and to protect other key front-line services. Residents have been hugely supportive of our recycling drives since 2003 and we know this may seem like a backward step.

“Charges for green bins were not something we wished to introduce, and this council’s commitment was to introduce the lowest possible charge we could at £25 per green bin, which is one of the lowest in England and Wales.”