COUNCILLORS have backed a planned rise in the cost of garden waste collections.

Scarborough Council wants to add £5 a year to brown bin collection licences as it looks to offset rising costs, bringing the charge to £38.

A report to the authority’s overview and scrutiny board said the cost of providing bins and garden waste sacks has also risen since the council last looked at its pricing, meaning it is now making a loss when selling both items to residents. The charge for a new brown bin and for 10 garden waste sacks would also rise by £5 to £20 under the proposals.

The committee supported the rise, which will need to be agreed by the full council at a later date, though the support was not unanimous.

Three councillors voted against backing the rise, including independent Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff.

Cllr Donohue-Moncrieff questioned how charging people for recycling garden waste fitted in with the council’s declaring of a climate emergency. She said: “I have got issues we how far we can go with increasing this [price]. The message this sends is ‘we want you to help save the environment, but we are going to charge you for it’.”

“I question the trajectory of the policy, we should be encouraging people to plant in their garden so that they are observing carbon and things like that.”