A council says more than 7,000 households have signed up to a new chargeable garden waste collection service, although the figure still represents only a minority of those eligible.

From April people living in Redcar and Cleveland who have opted in will be charged a £40 annual fee for one garden waste bin to be collected fortnightly up until November and £20 each for additional bin up to a maximum of five.

The revenue-raising move puts the council in line with a number of local authorities who due to budget pressures no longer collect green waste for free, with neighbouring Middlesbrough putting in place a similar scheme.

At a recent council meeting Councillor Mary Ovens, who represents the West Dyke ward for the Liberal Democrats, asked what percentage of households in the borough had signed up since the scheme went live for subscriptions at the end of January.

Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Councillor Adam Brook said the council had set a target of 16,000 subscriptions in year one, which was 40 per cent of eligible households.

He said it had 4,225 subscriptions, meaning it was more than a quarter of the way to the target, which, overall, represents 10.5 per cent of homes able to have green waste collected.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been told that figure has since increased to 7,307 households, which would mean a minimum of £292,280 being raised in charges, assuming each household uses only one bin, and equates to less than 20 per cent of those eligible.

Cllr Brook, in a written reply to Cllr Oven’s question, said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of subscriptions over the last two weeks and we expect more as the weather starts to improve and residents start to think about gardening.”

He said the council was promoting the scheme in a letter accompanying council tax letters; a full page advert in a council newsletter; advertising on the side of its vehicles and banners in council buildings, libraries and leisure centres, along with continued reminders on social media.

Cllr Brook said: “We believe all of the above will promote the service and continue to drive up subscriptions and reach all residents.”

The council has published a list of frequently asked questions on garden waste on its website.

A fixed charge applies to all households wanting to subscribe, regardless of personal circumstances, with no concessions and people signing up part-way through the year will still have to pay the full amount.

The council said subscribers would have their details recorded in a system accessed by waste collection crews and would also be provided with a sticker attached to each bin, including their own permit reference number.

Garden waste must be presented in a 240 litre wheeled bin, specifically provided for green waste collections by the council.

Those who do not wish to have a continued garden waste collection do not need to take any action and will be able at a later point to request their bin is removed.

Unlike household waste and recycling, there’s no legal requirement to collect garden waste so councils can charge for collections.