Rother garden waste collections remain suspended while Hastings reverses decision

Rother District Council confirmed its decision after Hastings Borough Council announced its garden waste collection service had resumed on Monday (April 20).

Rother and Hastings councils previously suspended the service as part of a joint decision, at the end of March, in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Explaining the reasons behind the continued suspension, a Rother District Council spokesman said: “The decision to suspend our garden waste service at the end of March was made to ensure disruption to waste and recycling collections was kept to an absolute minimum. We were given the option to pay additional money to reinstate this service, which is already funded by those residents who choose to have a garden waste collection.

“At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, we have chosen not to take up this offer. We feel strongly that taxpayers’ money should be targeted at universal services that all residents rely upon and those services that support the most vulnerable in our communities.

“In 2019 it was agreed to raise the garden waste subscription charges by £5 to £40 per year, per bin for 2020-21 – the first increase in five years. In recognition that the garden waste service has been disrupted the council has taken the decision not to increase the subscription charges for existing customers for 2020-21. We hope this will go some way to acknowledge residents’ patience and understanding.

“We appreciate that, with people spending more time in their gardens, residents are keen to see collections resume and will be disappointed by our decision, but we hope they agree that our limited resources need to be used carefully at a time of crisis to ensure vital services are protected.

“We are confident our contractor is doing everything they can to support staff to return work, and enable to the garden waste service to be reinstated as soon as possible.”