Why your brown bin subscription may change in 2026
Flintshire councillors will next week consider moving to a single £38 annual charge for garden waste collections from March 2026.
A report to the Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 9 December sets out options for closing an income shortfall in the paid-for brown bin service.
It also recommends extending the collection season by adding monthly winter collections from December 2026.
Flintshire’s garden waste service currently runs from March to the end of November, with around 20 or 21 fortnightly collections.
Households can buy up to three subscriptions for 140 litre brown bins, with all collected waste taken to the council’s composting site in Greenfield.
The current fee is £35 for residents paying online or before 1 March, and £38 for payments made after that date or by phone or kiosk. Charges last increased by £3 for the 2024 season.
When the subscription scheme was introduced in 2018, budgets were based on around 33,000 annual sign-ups.
Subscription numbers have fallen in recent years.
In 2025 the council sold 30,784 subscriptions, down from 31,767 in 2022.
There has been a decline in households paying for a single bin, with more choosing two.
The report says the service is unlikely to meet its 2025 to 2026 income target.
Against a budget of £1,187,500, forecast income is £1,109,144, leaving a £78,356 shortfall.
Officers say 81 per cent of this year’s subscriptions were bought online at the lower £35 rate, and nearly half were purchased before 1 March.
How Flintshire compares with other North Wales councils
The report includes a comparison of garden waste charges and service levels across North Wales.
Flintshire provides a 140 litre bin and a collection season running from March to mid December.
This is a smaller container and a shorter collection period than most neighbouring authorities, many of which use 240 litre bins and operate all year.
Because of this, Flintshire offers 2,940 litres of total capacity each year, which is lower than all councils except Denbighshire.
The current charge of £35 or £38 gives a price of between £0.012 and £0.013 per litre.
This places Flintshire towards the higher end of the regional cost scale, with only Denbighshire showing similar or higher figures.
When looking at cost per collection, Flintshire sits in the middle of the regional picture.
The cost of £1.67 to £1.81 per pickup is lower than Denbighshire and Gwynedd, similar to Conwy, and higher than Wrexham and Ynys Môn.
Six pricing options have been put forward for 2026, ranging from freezing charges to introducing a £40 flat rate.
The recommended option is to end the early bird and online discount and set a single charge of £38 for all households.
Officers say this would simplify administration and increase income without matching the highest fees in the region.
The committee is also being asked to support extending the collection season by introducing monthly collections in December, January and February from December 2026.
Officers say this would help residents deal with winter garden waste such as leaves and hedge cuttings, and reduce the amount placed in black bins.
The report notes that any increase in the annual charge could still lead to fewer sign-ups, as some residents choose to compost at home, share bins with neighbours or use household recycling centres, where garden waste is accepted free of charge.
A fall in the amount of garden waste collected at the kerbside would lower Flintshire’s overall recycling performance, as garden waste makes up a significant part of the county’s recycling total.
Work is under way on new sticker or permit systems to ensure only bins with valid subscriptions are collected.
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