Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the cost to taxpayers of additional household, bulky, and garden waste collection charges levied by local authorities in England from 2015 to date.

Local authorities have had the option to charge households for a garden waste and bulky waste collections since 1992, as per the Controlled Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2012.

From 31 March 2026, local authorities are required to provide a garden waste collection service, which meets the new requirements set out in amended section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to households where it is requested. As per the Controlled Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2012, they can continue to charge for garden waste services if they choose. Householders will be able to make their own decision about whether they wish to use this service or make other arrangements to dispose of their garden waste.

The previous Government consulted in 2021 on proposals to require waste collection authorities to introduce a free minimum garden waste collection service. However, as set out in the government’s response published in October 2023, the economic and environmental case is not strong enough to proceed with this proposal.

We believe that other Government policies, such as the requirement to collect food waste weekly, now offer higher carbon savings per pound spent than this policy. This includes the far higher savings associated with introducing weekly food waste collections