Harrow Council is making changes to the way waste and recycling is collected across the borough.

Starting in October, there will be separate collections for food waste and garden waste.

There will also be an optional annual charge of £75 introduced from April 2016 for the collection of garden waste.

The council claims these savings will help the council to fund other vital front-line services necessary to support the most vulnerable and keep the borough clean.

There will be a £25 concessionary rate for residents in receipt of Council Tax Support.

Starting in September, new food waste bins will be issued to each household free of charge.

From October, the new food waste bins will be collected weekly and the garden waste will be collected separately every two weeks from the existing brown bin.

Councillor for environment, crime & community safety Graham Henson said: “The financial climate that we find ourselves in is challenging.

“We have looked hard to see how we can save money, whilst also protecting our front-line services for the most vulnerable, and keeping our Borough clean.

“We think it’s fairer to introduce a small optional charge of twenty pence a day for a garden waste collection, rather than having to cut this service.

“By introducing a small charge we can continue to collect the garden waste for those who need it, but also save the Council nearly £2m annually.

“This is the equivalent of over 30 social workers or repairing 57,000 potholes.

“We are already in the top three boroughs across London for recycling, which we can be proud of. I hope this change will not only save us vital money, but also make us the best in London for recycling.

“By working together not only will we protect vital services in Harrow, but in the longer term we can reduce the volume of damaging waste sent to landfill.”

Harrow Council has assured that until this time garden waste will continue to be collected from the brown bin.

The annual charge of £75 for garden waste will be introduced in April 2016.

Residents will need to register and pay for the year ahead by April 2016 on the MyHarrow website from January 2016.

Residents can still home compost their garden waste or drop it off at their nearest civic amenity site free of charge.

The authority is also reportedly looking into offering other options, such as residents paying for one-off collections of garden waste or sharing a bin with a neighbour.

More information about the changes and options available will be posted to residents in August and September.