Arun residents charged among highest rates for garden waste collection in UK, research reveals

Residents in the Arun district who signed up to have a garden waste wheelie bin have been charged among the highest rates in the UK, research has revealed.
Arun Biffa bin lorry SUS-150715-100136001Arun Biffa bin lorry SUS-150715-100136001
Arun Biffa bin lorry SUS-150715-100136001

The Gazette and Observer found the service offered on behalf of Arun District Council ranked in the top-ten most expensive annual subscription fees across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Our research into charges of nearly 400 local authorities showed Arun residents had a number of payment options.

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A year of payments by monthly direct debit amounted to £72.60 annually. The national average was just over £42, our research found.

But paying for a year on a credit card would have seen residents charged £86.62, a figure which would rank second-highest across the UK, according to our figures. This sum decreased if residents signed up for two or three years.

An Arun spokesman said its Green Waste Club, run by Biffa on its behalf, was popular with residents.

They said: “The club is well established and has been running since 2005.

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“The customer numbers have continued to grow year on year and results from a recent customer satisfaction survey show that 94.75 per cent of residents rate the service as a good/excellent service, and 95.83 per cent of those using the service would recommend it to others.

“Whilst we believe the service represents excellent value for money it should be noted that many other local authorities both nationally and locally are able to significantly subsidise green waste collection charges as they are running fortnightly refuse collection rounds instead of weekly.”

The spokesman noted the discounts available on multi-year commitments, as well as a special offer in the coming weeks.

“Residents are able to get discounted offers of ten per cent and 20 per cent when signing up for two and three years respectively,” they said.

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“The club is currently running a special offer sign up till the end of January, 2019, where new subscribers can receive their first year subscription for £60.”

Arun’s neighbours, Worthing and Adur, ranked second-highest in the UK, with a full-year charge of £80 for a weekly collection.

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