A PILOT garden waste collection project will be rolled out across parts of Tendring from May.

The two-year scheme will start in the Clacton area and be expanded to other parts of the district later in the year.

Residents will be offered the chance to sign up for fortnightly collections of garden rubbish using wheelie bins.

There will be an initial charge of £25 for the wheelie bin and a £50 annual subscription.

Tendring Council environment boss Nick Turner said: “There has been a great deal of interest in this idea from the public ever since it was first agreed last month.

“We have now decided that the pilot will get off the ground in May and we have chosen the part of Tendring where we want to start.

“This is very much us offering a new service to our residents – and it will be down to them if they want to take up that offer.

“They do not have to do anything at this stage and we will be contacting all those living in the area of the pilot.”

Tendring is the only council in Essex not to provide garden waste collection service, which means overall recycling rates are lower than other areas of the county.

The pilot scheme will cover 19,000 homes and be reviewed after six months.