Sandbach taxpayers won't have to wait long, should they wish to sign up for the new garden waste collection service.

They way garden waste is being collected in Cheshire East is changing.

It will become a paid service in 2024. (On top of your Council Tax already paid for rubbish collection)

And this week, the date you can sign up for your garden waste to be collected ahead of next year's change has now been announced.

Cheshire East Council's Garden Waste Recycling Scheme will open to subscriptions in October for residents who would like to continue having their garden bin collected.

From January, taxpayers will need to opt-in to the council's Garden Waste Recycling Scheme to continue using their garden bin to recycle their green waste and will pay an annual subscription fee of £56 for their bin to be collected.

Subscriptions will go live from the week commencing 2 October and the quickest and easiest way to sign up will be via the council's website at: cheshireeast.gov.uk/gardenbin.

Local governments are introducing the scheme to residents across the nation, but Cheshire East's has come under fire as it is the most expensive fee in the north west.

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "It is now only a few weeks until we launch subscriptions to the Garden Waste Recycling Scheme, and we understand that residents may have questions about how it will work and what to expect if they sign up."

The Independent Councillor added: "Our website – cheshireeast.gov.uk/gardenbin – has been updated with the latest information about the scheme, including details of what to do if a resident wishes to share their subscription with a neighbour.

"Once subscriptions are launched in October, I encourage residents to sign up to the scheme as soon as possible, so that they are ready to go once the service goes live in January and can be sure they will benefit from the full year of collections."

Subscribers to the scheme will have their garden bins emptied as per their usual schedule and will be sent a sticker to attach to their bin, which will have their address and unique subscription reference number on it.

The sticker is designed to fray and tear if it is taken off the bin, so that it cannot be reused by anyone else.

Once subscribed, residents will receive collections from January through to December. As it is a seasonal service, there are no collections between mid-December and mid-January each year.

Cllr Warren explained: "If residents do not wish to sign up to the scheme and have their garden waste collected, we encourage them to try composting at home instead.

"It's an excellent and environmentally-friendly way of transforming garden and kitchen waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for people's gardens, and there are many different things that can be composted.

"Our website has a beginner's guide to composting, as well as lots more information available about reducing household waste.

"If home composting isn't an option, residents who do not sign up to the Garden Waste Recycling Scheme can continue to dispose of their garden waste at the borough's household waste recycling centres."

The subscription service for garden waste is a significant element in the council achieving a balanced budget in 2023-25, while also protecting essential frontline services and continuing to deliver on its ambitions and priorities.

More than 65% of local authorities across England already have a subscription scheme in place, including in Cheshire West and Chester, and many have been in place for several years.

Sandbach residents not wishing to sign up to the scheme do not need to contact the council and should keep their garden bin at their property. Bins will not be taken away by the council as they are assigned to the property and not a person.

Until January 2024, residents should continue to dispose of their waste in the normal way. Collections will continue as normal until then.