Plans to charge East Ayrshire residents to dispose of their garden waste will go ahead as planned this month.
Waste bosses will charge locals £30 per brown for the year when collections resume in April.
Proposals were outlined as part of the council's budget last year with chiefs saying that the service is not statutory and that they can no longer afford to provide the service for free.
It was mooted last year that the fundraising exercise could generate between £450,000 and £750,000 for the local authority.
Residents have yet to be formally notified about the change but an email seen by Ayrshire Live states that information will be sent out to householders in the coming weeks.
A statement on the council's website said last year: "As garden waste collection is not a statutory service, and with reducing budgets and increasing costs, the Council can no longer afford to provide this service for free.
"However, residents can continue to dispose of garden waste free of charge at their local waste recycling centre.
"We would also like to encourage more households to compost their own garden waste, and we will be offering a 50 per cent discount on home composting kits, which will be available for around £15."
One resident has told Ayrshire Live that the charge could lead to a spike in fly-tipping in the region.
"I'm really quite annoyed about it," the Stewarton resident said.
"I take pride in my home garden and where I live, as do so many others but putting barriers in place for people to clean up and keep the place looking presentable will only encourage fly tipping and a lack of interest in keeping on top of gardens."
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