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Garden waste

Our garden waste collection service allows you to have your garden waste emptied from your brown bin every fortnight.

When you sign up, you must have a valid email address and your debit or credit card details to hand. This will be used to confirm your order and to communicate with you regarding the service in the future. You can also sign up to the service by direct debit.

If you are on the Council Tax reduction scheme you will need your valid benefits number to receive the concession rate.

Read the frequently asked questions and the terms and conditions for further information on the service.

How the service works

If you choose to sign up, your garden waste will be collected each fortnight from your brown bin.

Sign up at any time

You can decide at any time to subscribe to the garden waste collection service. Your request will be processed as soon as possible but it may not be in time to provide a collection on your next scheduled recycling day due to processing your information and if a new bin needs to be delivered. Once you have subscribed to the garden waste service it may take up to two weeks to register your details with our collection crews.

Single annual payment

The annual payment will cover collections from 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025.

This is a one-off, partly as a way of assisting residents through the current cost of living crisis and also to allow us to align our subscription period with East Herts Council, as we operate a shared waste collection service with them.

Need more than one bin?

You will be able to pay for up to two additional brown bins for garden waste at your property.

Food waste is collected separately

Each home has a 23L brown kerbside caddy for food waste. Food waste from houses is recycled in the kerbside caddy and collected weekly. No food waste should be placed in the brown bin. Flats with a food waste only brown bin service have their food waste collected weekly from a communal brown bin.

Prices for October 2023 to March 2025

Payment type Amount you pay per bin

Single subscription

Sign up any time during the specified period to have one bin collected
(For collection period: 1 October 2023 - 31 March 2025)

£49.00

Additional bin collection charge

Sign up to have an additional bin collected. Please note this is for the cost of collection only and does not include the supply and delivery price of a bin.
(For collection period 1 October 2023 - 31 March 2025)

£49.00 per additional bin

Bin supply charge

For customers new to the service who need a bin to be delivered, or for existing customers who would like additional bins. Bins remain the property of the Council.

£40 per bin

Concession rate

For residents who are part of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (with a valid benefit number, which needs to be provided at the point of signing up)
(For collection period 1 October 2023 - 31 March 2025)

£24.50 for the first subscription

What can go in your brown bin

You can place these in your brown bin:

  • garden waste
  • grass / hedge cuttings / leaves
  • small tree prunings, bark and twigs
  • tree branches (up to 3cm in diameter)
  • moss, weeds
  • flowers
  • plants with excess soil removed
  • fallen fruit
  • real Christmas trees (without decorations and pot)

These items should not be placed in your brown bin (No Thanks)

  • food waste - please use your food caddy
  • general waste
  • nappies
  • pet bedding
  • cardboard
  • paper or other mixed recycling
  • soil
  • rubble
  • invasive plants - including Giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed

If the collection crews find incorrect materials placed in your brown bin, they will not be able to empty it - see our page on common collection problems.

Collections

The service is fortnightly on your usual recycling day. Find your collection day here.

  • Place your brown bin(s) out at your property boundary by 7am.
  • You are encouraged to put your house number on to your brown bin.
  • If your bin is missed please report it to us within 48 hours and if we have genuinely missed it we will return. If the bin has been left due to containing incorrect materials you should remove the incorrect items and we will then empty it on the next scheduled collection day.
  • If you currently receive an assisted collection for your other waste and recycling services we will apply this assistance to the new service. The bin must still be visible at the front of the property but does not have to be moved to the boundary.

If you do not want to sign up

If you decide not to subscribe to the garden waste service, you don't need to tell us. The garden waste service is opt-in which means you only need to act if you do wish to sign up.

Return an unused brown bin

To have your unused brown bin collected and returned to us, please use the form below:

We will only remove empty brown bins. If your bin contains any waste, it will not be taken.

If you decide to sign up to the garden waste service at a later date, you will have to pay for a new bin to be delivered.

Why garden waste is chargeable

Like many councils we have a reduced budget from central government. The decision to charge for garden waste collections is one of many difficult decisions the Council has faced to help reduce the costs of providing services.

Unlike household waste and recycling, there is no legal requirement to collect garden waste and councils can charge for collections. The income from charging for garden waste collections will make the service self-financing.

Terms and conditions

T&Cs July 2023

Further information