Why was my garden waste not collected?

We were unable to empty your garden waste bin and placed an orange advice tag on your bin for one of the following reasons:

  • your bin contained items we cannot collect (see below)
  • your bin was too heavy for our us to move and empty safely
  • waste was jammed or frozen inside your bin and could not be emptied. (Please note, we make repeated attempts to mechanically shake bins to loosen the contents but sometimes it is stuck and cannot be emptied.)

What can't I put in my garden waste bin?

Materials that are not accepted by the garden waste collection service include:

  • general rubbish
  • recycling
  • food waste
  • plastic bags and liners
  • plant pots and seed trays
  • pet waste
  • bricks and rubble
  • soil
  • large branches (more than 6 inches diameter) and logs
  • Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and other invasive weeds

Frozen garden waste

When it is very cold, wet garden waste inside your bin can freeze solid, making it impossible to empty. In prolonged periods of extremely cold weather it may not be possible to empty your bin before your next scheduled collection.

What do I need to do?

  • please remove any items that cannot be collected before your next collection
  • make sure that waste is not jammed too tightly inside your bin and that the bin is not too heavy to move or empty. You may need to remove some of the waste so that the bin can be emptied
  • you can take extra garden waste to your nearest household recycling centre, free of charge
  • if you are struggling to fit a fortnight's garden waste into one bin, you can pay for an additional garden waste bin

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