BURY is the second most expensive place to get your bulky household waste collected in Greater Manchester.

Bury Council will charge £35 for a collection of up to five items, behind only Salford which charges £42 for up to four items.

Neighbouring Bolton charges residents £30 for up to five items and in the city centre the council does not charge for collecting furniture and other big household items.

Analysis of figures for all councils in England show 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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

Cllr Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Charges for removing bulky household goods vary across Greater Manchester. Both Salford and Stockport are more expensive than us in terms of making a minimum payment, others less so, while in all cases the amount varies depending on how many items need to picked up. In Bury, the cost is £35 for five items, and residents who receive Council Tax benefit are entitled to one free-of-charge collection each year.

“I would love to provide this service for free, but this is simply not possible, after nine years of so-called austerity and the increasing demand on social care services from our most vulnerable children and adults.

“Make no bones about it - fly-tipping is a crime, and it blights our borough. The few people who do it, sadly, do not give a damn about our environment. The vast majority of our residents, thankfully, do care, and dispose of their waste responsibly. If they are deterred by a charge for a doorstep collection, they simply take their items to the nearest Household Waste Disposal Centre.”