Residents see red over anyrise in green bin charges

East Lindsey District Council provides the service and subscribers pay an annual fee of £25 which amounts to £1-per-collection.

But the authority claims it is subsiding the service to the tune of £446,000-a-year and needs to recoup some of that money.

Among various proposals are an increase in the subscription charge to between £40-£60.

A public consultation launched by the council closed last Monday (August 29) at 5pm.

However, several people told the News they were against any increase and claimed the charge should be scrapped completely.

Ian Watson, of Coningsby, said: “I’ve only just moved to the area and my previous council didn’t charge at all.

“I just put my green bin out and expected it to be collected. I didn’t realise I had to pay.

“I pay my council tax so shouldn’t the service come out of that?”

Emma Atkins, of Horncastle, said she would struggle to afford the increase.

She added: “We live in a rented house and money is really tight because my partner lost her job.

“We’ve a garden that we have to keep tidy otherwise the landlord will kick off.

“If we have to pay more I don’t know how we’ll manage, especially on top of everything else.”

Tony Matterson, who lives near Woodhall Spa, said the decision to introduce charges had led to an increase in fly-tipping.

He added: “You drive along back roads around here and there’s garden rubbish dumped.

“I don’t mind paying the charge because I’ve a decent-sized garden and it’s cheaper than driving to the tip - when it’s open. I know a lot of people don’t like paying.”

Steve Johnson, of Horncastle, was one of several people who said they didn’t mind a ‘slight increase’ in the charge.

ELDC says it will study feedback from the consultation before making any decision. The authority needs to save £6million over the next four years because of a reduction in Government funding. Other services are under threat.