BOLTON residents are charged the third highest fees in Greater Manchester for collecting bulky waste.

Bolton residents are charged £30 by the council for collecting up to five items of rubbish, including furniture and fridges.

Only neighbouring Bury (£35) and Salford (£42) charge more for coming out to collect a cumbersome household item.

In the city centre residents can have up to three of their bulky rubbish items collected for free.

However, Bolton Council is willing to collect items from inside the home and offers a free collection for smaller items like kettles and microwaves.

In 2017-18, there were nearly one million fly-tipping incidents in England. Of those, more than half ­— 521,895 ­— of the items dumped were white goods or other household waste.

In September The Bolton News reported there were almost 53,000 separate incidents of fly-tipping reported by the local authorities in the 10 boroughs in 2016/17, equating to 144 incidents per day.

Bolton Council dealt with a total of 2,065 incidents of fly-tipping in 2016/2017, which amounted to more than 962 tonnes dumped.

A spokesman for the Department of for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “It is up to local authorities to set their priorities for the collection of waste and recycling on a local level – based on the needs of their local communities and within the national waste policy.

“Local authorities are able to charge what they see fit for the collection and disposal of ‘bulky waste’, but we expect them to consult on any charges with local residents.”

A spokesman for Bolton Council said:

“For the £30 fee we will collect up to five items, including fridges and freezers.

“Everything is collected from inside the home and we endeavour to reuse or recycle as many items as possible.

“As part of this service, we also remove unwanted small electrical items, such as kettles and hairdryers, free of charge.

“As always, we encourage residents with fewer than five unwanted items to get together with neighbours and organise a joint collection to split the cost.”

Analysis of all the country’s councils show a huge variation in their collection policies for bulky household items.

Some council’s like Nottingham charge nothing for collecting items like furniture, fridges and bicycles. Others like Richmond-upon-Thames charge a hefty £51.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Some councils were able to provide free garden and bulky waste services when they were first introduced but are now having to charge to reflect the growing cost of providing a collection service.

“Councils in England face an overall funding gap of £3.2 billion in 2019-20.

“Money from garden and bulky waste collection charges goes back into maintaining the service.”

The regulations say councils can charge for the collection of certain materials, including waste that does not fit into a household bin or waste which exceeds 25kg in weight.

Analysis reveals widespread regional variation in how much people are being asked to pay, with prices ranging from just a few pounds for a single item to more than £100 for collections of multiple items.