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UK gardeners 'punished by quiet green tax' for kerbside collections

Published 25 September, 2019

In September 2019 the BBC Shared Data Unit reported the claim that a "quiet green tax" was deterring gardeners from recycling their waste.

Analysis showed some UK councils were charging up to £100 a year for a kerbside collection, despite one in four councils providing a free service.

Critics said the service should be free to residents to reduce the amount of clippings being sent to landfill.

Councils said the service was not statutory and home composting was a cheaper alternative.

The BBC's Shared Data Unit looked at the annual subscription charges levied by local councils for regular kerbside garden waste collections. It found:

  • More than 140 local authorities provided a free collection, but charges for other councils ranged from £18 to £96.
  • The average annual charge was around £31, with higher costs levied in London and the South East.

This piece of content was produced by a regional newspaper reporter working alongside BBC staff.

The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:

The story was also used by BBC Radio 2, BBC Midlands Today, BBC WM, BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Kent, BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Radio Berkshire, BBC Surrey, BBC Sussex and BBC Three Counties Radio

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