SUBSCRIPTIONS are now open for a council garden waste collection scheme.

The price for the service remains at £38 per garden waste bin for the collections for the period April 1 this year to March 31 next year for anyone living in the Ryedale District Council area.

Residents are reminded of an important change this year, new plastic bin tag licences will no longer automatically be sent out to citizens who renew their garden waste subscriptions every year which will remove approximately 12,000 bin tags from the environment annually.

Beckie Bennett, Head of Waste and Environment for Ryedale District Council explained: "Our message to citizens is to keep their current bin tags attached to their bin and this will help us reduce the amount of plastic waste put into the environment. However, don’t worry if your plastic licence tag is lost or damaged, we’re also committed to delivering the best service possible and will replace a plastic licence tag if that’s what has happened. Subscribe as normal, let us know and we will replace lost/damaged tags.

“We hope citizens support the change to the service and ask them to look out for their reminder letter early in March. All they’ll need for our teams to collect their garden waste is a current subscription and a plastic licence tag attached to their bin. A receipt will be issued as part of the renewal process as proof of purchase.”

New plastic tags will be issued to new customers or customers wanting additional bins.

Ryedale District Council has sent out renewal letters to current subscribers reminding them to keep their current bin tag licence attached to the bin. Subscriptions can be renewed by going to www.ryedale.gov.uk, by phoning 0800 035 1566 or visiting the Post Office or other outlets displaying the Pay Point sign.

If a citizen doesn’t want to re-subscribe to the service, their collections will stop from March 31 and they will need to compost garden waste at home, or take it to a local Household Waste Recycling Centre.

The garden waste service for 2020/21 has resumed with collections for that year’s subscriptions stopping on March 31 2021. Residents can check their bin day here: www.ryedale.gov.uk/environment/rubbish-recycling/find-your-bin-collection-day