WARRINGTON Borough Council has no plans to remove the garden waste collection charge.

The Government has been consulting on whether households in England should receive free garden waste collections.

It has asked for opinions on the possibility of all councils providing the service free of charge from 2023.

In Warrington, the fortnightly service costs £32 for the year if paid online, although this rises to £35 if paid over the phone or at Contact Warrington.

This is the third year the Labour-run authority has charged for the collection and the price has gone up by £1 each time.

And the council has confirmed it ‘does not have any plans’ to remove the current charge for the service.

A spokesman said: “In the light of any new legislation and funding, this charge would be reviewed.”

Former council leader Cllr Ian Marks said ‘common senses’ tells him that charging for the collection of garden waste ‘must reduce the amount sent for recycling, which is bad’.

“On the other hand, I do understand the argument that making collections free means that those without gardens or with small gardens are effectively subsidising those with larger gardens which is not very fair,” he added.

“However, I still maintain that to charge an extra £3 if you cannot apply digitally is discriminatory.

“It is unfair on those who are not able to use the internet or do not have a computer. Many of these will be our older citizens.”

The council says the additional charge reflects the increased cost to the authority of ‘administering’ face-to-face payments.

The spokesman said: “Currently, over 90 per cent of service users pay via the online system.”

He also confirmed officers are looking at the potential of introducing an automated annual payment for the service.

If introduced, it would be an additional payment avenue and would not replace the face-to-face method, which would still cost £3 more.