How the scheme will work

The annual fee for garden waste collections is £60 for the first bin and £30 for a second bin. If you do not already have a second bin, we will provide you with one as part of the £30 fee.

If you receive Council Tax benefit, you can sign up to the annual service for £45 for the first bin and £30 for a second bin. We will check you are eligible as part of your online application.

This is a flat fee that you must pay in full, regardless of when you start your subscription.

Your subscription will run from 1 March to 28 February the following year.

It is an optional service, open to anyone who received a garden waste collection previously.

If you did not already receive a garden waste collection service before the changes, you won't be able to subscribe to the paid-for service. 

Our garden waste service will run throughout the year. We aim for 26 collections per year, but guarantee a minimum of 20, to allow for adverse weather or other events out of our control. 

You can have a maximum of two brown wheeled bins, which we will provide. All bins must have a capacity of 240 litres and may be new or refurbished. 

You must make sure the lid is closed, and we will not take any side garden waste that is not in the bin.

Renewals

Your subscription will run from 1 March to 28 February the following year.

When you register, you need to provide an email address. We will automatically send you a renewal email with your options in February every year.

Once you have paid, we will send you a new sticker. This will be in a different colour, to allow our collection team to easily spot out-of-date subscriptions.  

Moving house

The garden waste sticker only applies to the property, not the resident. This means you cannot transfer it to a new property if you move, and we will not be able to issue a refund.  

If you move out of our area or to a non-eligible property, you must let us know, so we can cancel your subscription for that address. You can leave your garden waste bin with the sticker there.

If you are moving to another property within our area, you can set up a subscription for your new address by visiting our website and making a new annual payment. 

Cancellations

You have a right to change your mind and cancel your subscription, but only if:

• you cancel within 14 days of your payment, and
• we have not already carried out a brown bin collection for your property.

You won't be able to get a refund after the initial 14-day period, including if you change your mind or move property. 

We reserve the right to cease the service without a refund if there is evidence of damage or misuse. 

To help our collection crews manage the transition to the new service we are asking residents to keep hold of their garden waste bins for the time being, even if you choose not to subscribe.

Once the transition period is over, you will be able to ask us to remove unwanted bins if you wish. This is likely to be in summer 2025.  

We will cease garden waste collections for anyone not subscribed from 1 March 2025.

You can buy a subsidised compost bin from Essex County Council. However, you don't have to buy a compost bin. Instead, you can make your own from scrap wood or other materials.

You can also take garden waste to any of Essex County Council’s recycling centres.