GARDEN waste will not be collected from homes between December and the end of February if plans are approved.

Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) currently collects garden waste with food waste, but changes mean this can no longer take place from April.

Proposed changes would mean the new ‘seasonal’ collections would run from 1st March to 30th November, while maintaining the current cost of £18 a year.

Currently, each permit purchased entitles residents to a weekly garden waste collection for the period 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018 for one brown garden waste bag.

Charges for the service have risen from £8 to £18 over the last five years, and a proposed charge increase to £18.45 for 2018/19 has already been agreed.

According to a report to go in front of MCC’s Individual Cabinet Members Decisions committee, the increased cost for 2017/18 saw the largest number of complaints and biggest reduction in service uptake since the scheme began.

If the full costs of the current scheme were to be recovered, the report states the cost per permit would need to be £22.35: a 24 per cent increase. Since 28 per cent of customers chose not to renew the license after the last price increase, this option is not preferred.

There was also consideration to offer fortnightly collections using wheeled bins, but this option would require more consultation. This option could be modelled during the next financial year and brought back through MCC’s committees if it shows substantial savings.

The report says there is a substantial drop in usage of the service during the winter months and anecdotal evidence suggests this could be as low as 10 per cent weekly set out rate from December to March. Torfaen and Newport councils operate a seasonal collection service for garden waste and report no additional issues of flytipping or increased usage of household waste recycling centres during this period.

If approved, for customers renewing permits in 2018 the service will run from 1st April to 30th November, and will then run from 1st March to 30th November.

It is anticipated this will save MCC £40,000 in 2018/19 and £25,000 a year thereafter.