Dear Sir.
The fornightly collection of garden refuse is most certainly not a free service. The collection of ALL household waste is paid for through council taxes.
Recycling is a multi-billion pound business nationwide. it is also the only business in which providers of raw materials receive no payment for their input.
The reported average of 300 tonnes of recycable material a month sold on from Aycliffe waste disposal unit alone brings in a large income. Already paid for collections of  paper, tins, glass, plastic and garden waste – multiply this free income by undisclosed amounts.
At the cost of £2, there was a time when it was possible to purchase bags of soil enhancer made from garden waste; goodness knows who it is sold onto now.
Recycling is nothing more than another form of taxation filling council coffers, so the collection of waste is paid for a second time. To charge householders £20 per year for the collection of any re-usable waste is an unjust third charge for the same service.
To remove one type of waste from the recycling system effectively negates all others and so it becomes nothing more than an everyday business. Householders should be charging inefficient Councils for their previously purchased materials.
J.Thompson.