Dale Benton

More than 15,000 green bins have been collected in Lincoln over the last month — which would equate to a 43% take-up of the previously free service across the city.

Some 14,200 properties have signed up, out of a total of 33,000 Lincoln households receiving the service free before July.

The City of Lincoln Council introduced an annual £25 fee for green waste collections at the beginning of July, in a bid to help balance its budget after funding cuts from central government.

As it stands, 15,412 bins have been paid for.

John Bibby, Director of Housing and Community Services at the City Council, said: “The money the scheme brings goes a long way to offset the costs of providing these collections for residents.

“People can opt in to the service at any time during the year but we would encourage anyone thinking about joining to do so sooner rather than later so they can enjoy the benefits it brings for a longer period of time.”

“At less than 50 pence a week, we believe this is good value for money compared with the costs of any alternatives.”

The garden waste collection service runs from the beginning of July to the end of June.

Anyone not wanting to sign up is being asked to keep hold of their bin so they can use it to store their green waste before taking it to the Household Waste Recycling Centre, or even use it as a makeshift compost bin.

If they decide at a later date to sign up to the collections they will already have the bin ready to go.

However, if the bin is collected by the council and the person decides to opt in at a later date they will be charged £10 to have a new one delivered.

People also have the option to share a green bin with a friend or neighbour, meaning they can also share the cost.

The Frequency Festival of Digital Culture returns to Lincoln this October, bringing a celebration of international arts, culture and technology to the city.

The festival was first launched in 2011, with over 100 artists exhibiting their work to a live audience of more than 32,000 people across the city, organisers said.

Installations and exhibitions from local, national and international artists will transform historic venues across Lincoln from Friday, October 18 to October 26.

Spanning across nine days, the Frequency festival will take place in a range of sites throughout the city, from non-traditonal and unexpected locations to established arts venues including The Collection, Lincoln Drill Hall, LPAC and the University of Lincoln.

Festival Director Uzma Johal spoke of the excitement of bringing the Frequency festival back to Lincoln: “Frequency 2011 was an experiment with partners across Lincoln, and the county came together with local, national and international artists to create a fresh approach to digital art.

“[The festival] will be a dynamic platform and showcase for Lincolnshire, putting us on the global map as an exciting destination for destination for creativity and culture.”

Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: “As a festival, it delivers an incredible showcase of local, national and international artistic talent.

“It provides a gateway for the public to experience revolutionary artwork that they might not otherwise have encountered,” she added.

This year the festival is introducing a new opportunity for local artists who want to showcase their work in the Artists’ Village on Cornhill.

The artist’s market, created to increase the exposure of Lincolnshire based artists, will consist of pop-up galleries of local talent where artists can buy and sell their work.

The festival is brought to the city by a partnership between the University of Lincoln,Lincoln BIG, Visit Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire One Venues(LOV) and Threshold Studios.

A full lineup of events will be detailed on the Frequency Festival website.