What's next for Shropshire's green bin scheme?

Shropshire Council says its new garden waste subscription scheme will now begin in November, a month later than planned, after issues with bin stickers.

The authority was due to bring in the new service, costing residents £56 a year, from the start of October, meaning green waste would no longer be collected for free.

However, several residents have claimed on social media that supposedly tamper-proof stickers - used to distinguish the green bins of subscribers - were already peeling off.

About 57,500 people had subscribed to the scheme as of Monday.

The stickers, placed on residents' green bins, are a way to identify who has paid for the scheme.

People began receiving their stickers last week, but overnight, dozens reported that they had almost completely peeled off their receptacles.

Ian Nellins, deputy leader of the Conservative-led council and cabinet member in charge of waste, said the authority had been promised the stickers could not be removed, used strong glue, and would shred if removal was attempted.

"The first of them were delivered on Thursday, and Friday we stopped the service," he said.

Co-leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, Roger Evans, described the situation as a "fiasco".

The council has a new supplier, with the stickers due to get to homes before the end of October.

"As soon as the first one was put on a bin and we realised it wasn’t suitable we stopped that provider and looked elsewhere," Mr Nellins said.

"If anything, it’s a positive for those people who haven’t subscribed, because they’re going to get another month of [free] service."

He added: “It's not a fiasco as far as I’m concerned, it’s an annoyance, but we’ve put it right very quickly."

Mr Nellins said Plan B would not cost the council any money, because it was refusing to pay for the first product.

"What we had asked for, and the specifications, were not met, so it’ll not be paid for," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

He added that the poor quality was not because the stickers were the cheapest option.

“We were reassured that the same specification has been applied to all local authorities who have the same product.

"We didn’t just go out and say: 'Give us a sticker'."

Residents should receive their new stickers before the end of October, and the new waste scheme will start from 4 November.

There will be no extra charge for a new sticker.

"We'll still run a 12-month service through to 31 October 2025, so nobody is out of pocket, people who’ve paid will still get a 12-month service," Mr Nellins said.

Residents can still subscribe to the service via the council's website, and there is a payment window open until 31 March 2025.

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