The price of the 40-week service has risen from £49 to £52, which council bosses have said reflects the local authority’s around £2.1 million running costs.
Households have until Friday, February 13, to sign up for the scheme before the fortnightly collections restart on Monday, March 2.
Properties which are eligible for a kerbside garden waste collections will be sent information packs from this week via email or by post, City of York Council said on Monday (January 19).
The council said the price hike equates to £2.60 per collection and brings the cost in line with the price North Yorkshire Council charges for the same service.
A 50 per cent discount on the charge (£26 or £1.30 per collection) is available for residents in receipt of council tax Support or those registered as having a severe mental impairment, the council said.
There will be no change to kerbside household waste or recycling collections – black wheeled bins or recycling boxes – as part of the garden waste service restarting.
A council spokesperson added that households with an assisted collection will have the arrangement automatically transferred when they subscribe for garden waste collections, “so there is no need to contact the council”.
Charges for the previously free garden waste collection service were introduced in 2024.
The council spokesperson said collecting garden waste is not a statutory service for local authorities and the service is “not directly included in council tax bills”.
More than 70 per cent of local authorities in England already charge for garden waste collections, they added.
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When announcing the £3 price increase last month (December), the Labour council’s executive member for environment, Cllr Jenny Kent, said the hike was needed to help cover the local authority’s increased running costs.
It came after a council report stated there was a gap of around £175,000 between the service’s roughly £2.1 million running costs and the more than £1.9 million charges being brought in.
“No one puts prices up lightly but it’s easy to equate take-up with deprivation,” Cllr Kent said.
“Guildhall also has a low take-up but it also has a small amount of homes with gardens, there are other households who either can’t use the scheme or have no need for it.
“This £3 increase is helping to close the £175,000-gap.”
But the York Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Nigel Ayre, said the hikes were a move in the wrong direction, leading to an increase in fly-tipping and queues at waste sites.
“This is a two-tier service, charges have increased by 13 per cent since they were first introduced and the effects are being felt in the most deprived communities,” Cllr Ayre said.
To sign up for the garden waste subscription service, complete an online form at www.york.gov.uk/GardenWaste or phone 01904 551 551.
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