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Residents in South Gloucestershire are to be charged to have garden waste collected by the council.

South Gloucestershire Council's Communities Committee have backed plans to introduce a £36 annual fee for green bin collections from next April.

The council says charging for the service, which residents can opt out of, will save up to £1.2m a year.

However, Conservative councillor James Hunt said it could result in increased fly-tipping and black bin usage.

Mr Hunt said it was "misleading" to suggest applying new taxes was "the only way to save the council money".

He said an alternative solution would be to look at how the council's private waste removal contractor, Sita, could "work more efficiently".

South Gloucestershire Council said residents who did not want to pay the annual fee could dispose of green waste at their local recycling centre.

It is also planning a further pay-as-you-go initiative for extra garden waste sacks.