Gardeners have been warned the way a council operates its garden waste collection scheme is to change.
From July 1, Maidstone council will start issuing annual permits to households that pay for their fortnightly collection of grass cuttings, prunings and other green waste.
The permits will need to be attached to the brown collection bins.
As current users’ subscriptions expire, they will be asked to pay a pro-rata charge to take them up to the next July 1, so that within 18 months, all permits will fall due on the same day.
Cllr Clive English, the cabinet member for environmental services, said: “The garden waste service has been running for over 20 years in Maidstone and is popular with many residents.
“Ours is one of the cheapest of all the authorities in Kent and has around 30,000 subscribers, collecting over 19,000 tonnes of compostable material every year. All of which is treated locally and reused as a compost.”
New subscribers will remain welcome and will be charged at a pro-rata rate in the first year, based on when they join.
For example, if someone joins in September 2025 they will be charged pro-rata until July 2026, and then start the full annual subscription to continue to run July to June in the following years.
Residents are also able to subscribe to more than one bin, although there is a maximum of three 240-litre bins per property.
A council spokesman said: “We are introducing the changes to simplify the renewal process by sending out annual reminders, rather than monthly.
“This will enable the council and Suez Recycling and Recovery (which collects the bins) to see how many total subscriptions there are for the scheme, and having a visible permit will enable the crews to easily distinguish between paid-for and unpaid-for bins.”
Currently, the service costs £48 per bin per year, plus an initial £10 joining charge.
For further information, email waste@maidstone.gov.uk or call 01622 602600.
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