Bin charges round up

Stockport and Trafford councils brought the charges in this spring, meaning residents who want their garden waste collected need to fork out extra.

Green bin permits came into effect in Stockport from March 31, costing £59 for a permit that runs until March 31, 2026. Trafford council’s permits will be needed from June 1, costing £45 online and £50 over the phone.

They weren’t the only authorities that planned to bring in a ‘garden tax’ this year. Bolton council was set to follow with its own £45 charge for garden waste permits.

But the plan was canned after the council had an unexpectedly-good grant from the government, giving the town hall £3m extra.
The waste from nine of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs is processed together, so residents across  Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham,

Rochdale, Tameside, Stockport, Trafford, and Salford put the same items in the same recycling bins.

What could be recycled in the plastic bins was expanded last year. Previously, only plastic bottles could be recycled at home.
Now plastic pots, like yoghurts, soup, and cosmetics; plastic tubs, like margarine, laundry powder, and chocolates; and plastic trays, including black plastic trays, for raw and cooked meat and fruit and veg punnets can now be recycled.

However, colours of each bins can vary hugely across Greater Manchester. 

Blue seems to be the colour for paper and card, but Rochdale has two blue bins. The second one, with a green lid, is for mixed recycling.

That bin — which takes in plastics and bottles, usually — is black in some places, but black in Manchester itself. Green is often the colour of food or garden waste, but in Salford they can be black with a pink lid.

Differences in colours and if you pay for garden collections are not the only discrepancy between rubbish collections in Greater Manchester, though. Collection frequencies vary, as do additional charges for new bins.

Here the Local Democracy Reporting Service has rounded-up what you have to pay extra and what you get for your money.

Bolton

Bolton was going to introduce a £45 charge for garden waste permits this year, but the plan was canned after the council had an unexpectedly-good grant from the government, giving the town hall £3m extra.

Its beige bins, for paper and card, are collected every four weeks. The burgundy bin for glass, cans, and plastic, is picked up every fortnight, as is the grey general waste bin. 

The green garden waste bin is collected every fortnight, but the food waste caddy is collected every week.

Residents are charged for bulky collections, £39 for up to five items and £78 for six to 10. 

There are also charges for new wheelie bins — £12 for the beige, burgundy, or green recycling bins, and £34 for a grey general waste bin.
Bury

There are no direct extra fees for collections in Bury, and like most authorities collections vary by bin type.

Brown bins, for recycling garden waste and food waste, are emptied once every two weeks. Blue bins, for mixed recycling like plastics are done every three weeks, as are green bins for paper and grey general waste bins.

Like most other authorities it charges for replacement bins and bulky collections.

A new grey general waste bin costs £45, but to ‘encourage recycling we offer a lower charge for recycling bins’, according to the authority. Blue, brown, and green recycling containers cost £17 each.

For bulky pick-ups, each pick up costs £48, and the council can take up to five items in one collection.

But ‘if you receive Council Tax benefit, you can request one bulky waste collection for half the price’, the authority adds: “This discounted cost is applicable to one collection of up to five items, once per year. To take advantage of this discount, please call us on 0161 253 5353 to book your bulky waste collection.”

Manchester

Manchester council doesn’t charge directly for regular collections, but it does for multiple ‘bulky’ collections of larger items. 
All of its bins — blue for paper and card, brown for plastics, bottles, and cans, green for food and garden waste, and grey for general waste — are collected fortnightly.

Every household gets one free bulky collection per year, for up to three items. From there on, bulky collections cost £29 for three items and £58 for six.

Manchester also charges for replacement general waste grey wheelie bins, which cost £23. Replacement recycling bins are free, but were going to be paid-for from next year — until a £5.4m rebate from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority meant the town hall did a U-turn on the plans.
Oldham

Oldham doesn’t charge for regular collections, but has different frequencies for different collections.

Grey, blue, and brown bins are done every three weeks, but green bins and caddies are weekly.

Replacement general waste bins cost £35 for a 140-litre model, £39.50 for 240L, £71.50 for 360L, £94 for a lockable 360L version, and £369.50 for a 770L bin.
Replacement recycling bins are free, and you can save money by using a reconditioned wheelie bin, which costs £19 for 140L or £30 for a 240L unit.

If a resident is on Oldham council’s ‘assist list’, they get one free bulky collection a year. For others, the charge for bulky items is £23 for up to three pieces and an additional £8 for every additional bulky item, along with an additional £12 fee for each white good. Bulky item collections are outsourced to a company called Bulky Bob.

Rochdale

Rochdale council is one of those authorities which has just brought in a new charge. Residents now need to stump up for replacement bins, with it costing £30 for a wheelie bin regardless of colour.

But it doesn’t cost extra for regular collections, with brown food and garden bins taken weekly. The dark green general waste, light blue and green-lidded mixed recycling, and blue paper bin are collected every three weeks.

It’s already charged for bulky collections for some time — but a household can get two pick ups free every year. You can get two collections of up to three items for free, but any more items in those visits cost £8 each.

It’s another £12 for a third collection in a year, which includes three items — and more objects cost £8 each. However, crews will only take a maximum of six items per booking.

Salford

Salford council also doesn’t charge for normal collections, with grey bins collected every three weeks, blue and brown fortnightly, and food and green waste weekly.

It doesn’t charge for replacement recycling bins, but does for black general waste receptacles. They cost £29.25 for a standard size wheelie bin.
The authority doesn’t charge for extra collections a la Stockport and Trafford. However, unlike their Mancunian neighbours, Salfordians don’t get a free bulky waste pick-up.

They have to fork out £50 for up to four items, and ‘extra items can be collected for an additional cost’, Salford council’s website adds.

Stockport
As mentioned, Stockport’s controversial £59 ‘garden waste permits’ will be implemented from March 31. The permit lasts until March 31, 2026, and is discounted to £39 for people getting council tax support.

But it is not knocked-down if residents buy it later in the year — it’s £59 if you buy it on March 31 this for 365 days, and £59 if you buy it on March 30 next year for just one day. Everyone will need to renew their permits next spring, too.

Permits can take up to three weeks to arrive, and need to be stuck below the green bin handles when they arrive. Each permit will have an address on, and garden waste will only be collected from green bins with a valid permit.

However, food waste will continue to be collected from green bins for free each week, without needing a permit. The collection day will stay the same as it is now.

If you have a permit, your green bin will be collected every week. Black general waste bins are collected twice or thrice a month, and the blue paper recycling bin and brown mixed recycling bins are collect once a month.

Replacement bins cost £25 each, and food caddies are £10 — but you can get a full set for £75. Fees don’t stop with bulky collections, as one bulky item costs £30 to pick up, two items are £50, and three to eight items cost £80.

Tameside

Tameside doesn’t require an extra payment for collections, but bins are collected at different rates.

Brown bins, for food and garden waste, are collected weekly, whereas general waste green bins are done fortnightly.

Both black bins, for glass, cans, and plastics, and blue bins for paper and card, are picked up every three weeks.
Rural homes have a different pattern, but only 900 of the borough’s homes are different.

New recycling bins cost £26.50 each, as does a general waste bin. However, residents need to get approval for a general waste bin ‘via the exceptional circumstances policy’, Tameside council says. 

A full set of bins will set you back £110.20. Bulky collections cost £37.50 by way of an ‘administration charge’ that’s non refundable administration and due in advance online.

Trafford

Trafford was the first Greater Manchester council to introduce a ‘garden tax’. 

It requires residents subscribe to the annual garden waste service, which costs £50 per bin per year, if they want garden rubbish gone. However, if you subscribe online, you can take advantage of a £5 discount per bin.

The permits will be required from June 1, and green bins will be collected weekly for those with the pass.

Grey bins, for general waste, are collected fortnightly. Black mixed recycling bins and blue paper bins are done monthly.

It also charges for new bins, namely £127 for a full set, or £37 for any wheelie bin up to 240L. This is reduced to £15 for ‘householders receiving Council Tax Benefit, (excluding Single Persons Reductions) or Housing Benefit’.

A bulky collection costs £40 per visit, ‘which covers up to five items’.

Wigan

Wigan also does not charge for green bin pick-ups, and garden waste is collected every fortnight. 

But Wigan council does charge £50 for a replacement large wheelie bin, and £48 for a small wheelie bin. A standard food caddy costs £6, and large kerbside caddy is £10.

It doesn’t charge for the first two bulky waste collections in a year, up to five items per visit. Any extra collections in a 12 month period will cost £25 for up to five items.