An emergency £90,000 waste disposal contract has been signed by Sutton Council after its new scheme to charge £35 per bag of garden waste proved unpopular.

The council's executive approved a motion on Tuesday to pay a waste disposal company £5,000 a weekend to clear garden waste from Beddington Lane waste disposal unit during the summer months.

Sutton Council's executive member for the environment Councillor Colin Hall, who last week told the Sutton Guardian he was confident the new scheme was the right scheme, this week announced the measure which he denied was last minute.

"The council has now successfully concluded negotiations with the waste management company. Residents will be able to drop off their green garden waste at the Beddington Lane site during weekends and bank holidays from 28 May," he said.

The £35 charge per bag is part of the council's waste strategy but the free composters and glass collection offered instead has failed to cushion the blow on many Sutton residents.

The agreed figure of £90,000 for the new contract does not include the price the council will have to pay for processing of the waste, although the council refused to reveal what this would be.

The move has been criticised by the Conservatives who said it would encourage residents to take extra trips in the car.

"The pitter patter of carbon footprints will be deafening as thousands of cars drive to the dump with garden waste instead of a single council truck. We know that the Kimpton site has already reached capacity," said opposition environment councillor John Kennedy.

"Minimising waste is a key cross party strategy and is supported by most people in the borough, but the Lib Dem council runs the risk of jeopardising the whole scheme with the unpopular £35 charge which they have not justified or explained," he added.