Brown bin permit raises £1.9m for Glasgow Council in under two years

More than £1.9 million has been raised since Glasgow City Council introduced its brown bin permit for the collection of garden waste last October.

From October 1, 2023 the local authority introduced a £50 annual charge for the collection of domestic garden waste after the proposals received unanimous support at the budget meeting.

During a council meeting, Labour councillor, Bailie Patricia Ferguson asked why there was no flexibility in the scheme as some of her constituents needed more than one brown bin to accommodate hedge trimmings.

Bailie Ferguson said: “I would like to put to the convenor if I may, the case of my elderly constituents who have a very large hedge in their garden and that hedge alone has four brown bins.

“At the moment they are being charged £200 to use their brown bins. That seems to me and I hope the convenor would agree, not to be the intention of the scheme.

“When questioned I am advised that it actually is the intention of the scheme. I also have elderly constituents who are receiving pension credit and are very upset because they are worried about whether or not they will be able to use their brown bin.

“Although we can tell them it is not necessary to use their other brown bin, they have no other option so I wonder if some flexibility might be considered as we approach the second year and I would be very happy to discuss this with the convenor if that would be helpful.”

Councillor Ruairi Kelly said that he was always more than happy to discuss any of the council’s policies with any of the members and pointed out that the implementation of the scheme was passed unanimously with no alternatives put forward to remove it in the most recent budget.

He said: “So far [this policy] has raised £1.962 million for the council. If that were to be removed or flexibilities brought into it that would result in us having to find savings equal to what that amount was elsewhere.”

Glasgow agreed to introduce a permit to remove garden waste as part of the 2023/24 budget. The new brown bin permit system began on October 1 last year and the first year is valid until October 30, 2024.

Councillor Kelly added: “An annual charge of £50 is now applicable for each brown bin presented for collection. When applying it is made clear that the full fee is applicable regardless of when the permit is purchased in the year.

“There is no option to pay in instalments due to administrative challenges.

“If the resident doesn’t wish to use a permit, they can continue to use the brown bin for food waste only and that will continue to be collected.”