Garden waste collection service

To have your garden waste collected in your green bin, you will need to subscribe to our garden waste collection service. This is an opt-in, paid-for service.

The 2024/25 garden waste collection service starts on 26 August 2024 and runs until 24 August 2025.

Subscribe to the 2024/25 service

If you do not subscribe to the garden waste collection service you can compost your garden waste at home or take it to one of our recycling centres free of charge.

Food waste is collected for free, separately from garden waste - for more information visit our food waste page.

Subscribing

The 2024/25 service started on the 26 August 2024. If you do not subscribe or renew your 2023/24 subscription, your green bin will not be emptied if it contains garden waste from this date.
 

Who the service is for

This service is only for residential properties, places of worship and village halls that dispose of household waste.

If you live in a communal property where you have your own garden/communal gardens, contact us and a Waste Officer will get in touch to discuss your needs.

This service does not cover:

• premises occupied by a club, society or any associations of persons in which activities are conducted for the benefit of the members (for example: sports pavilions and social clubs)
• village halls, other halls or residential properties that are managed by a commercial landscaper or gardener

These premises need to use a commercial waste service.
 

Sharing a bin with a neighbour

Any agreement made between neighbours to share green bins is a private arrangement. The subscription will only be linked to one subscriber and one property, so it is up to neighbours to decide who will purchase the subscription. We will collect the green bin from outside the subscriber's property.

The subscriber will be responsible for compliance with the terms and conditions of the garden waste service.
 

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How to subscribe

Direct Debit renewals

If you subscribed to the 2023/24 collection service and have an active Direct Debit, you do not have to complete the subscription process for the 2024/25 service, as your subscription will auto-renew. You should have received an email or letter notification of your renewal. If you have not received this, please contact us at gardenwaste@westberks.gov.uk.

Unless you cancel your Direct Debit, your renewal will be processed automatically (following notification of the amount and payment date).

If you previously paid by Direct Debit but cancelled your Direct Debit, you will need to complete the registration process again for any new subscriptions.

New subscribers and non-Direct Debit renewals

If you are a new subscriber or do not have a current Direct Debit set up, you can subscribe to the 2024/25 service by Direct Debit or credit/debit card at any time until the 30 June 2025. There will be no part-year payment option available, regardless of when you subscribe.

Read our terms and conditions at the start of the online form before subscribing.

If you don't have internet access or an email address

If you do not have your own internet access, a smartphone, or friends or family members who can help you with this, you can complete the subscription process by:

• calling our payment line on 01635 503828
• or visiting our Market Street office in Newbury

A member of the team will be able to complete the subscription process with you.

Our phone lines are very busy at this time, and we would prefer to prioritise helping vulnerable residents. Please only call if you cannot find the information or support you need online.

Once we have received your subscription (or your Direct Debit renewal has been processed), your property details will be added to a database. Our contractor, Veolia, will use that database to inform collection crews which households have subscribed to the service.
 

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Using your personal information

We will collect personal information for the purpose of processing your application, providing the service and, where applicable, for collecting payments. Your property details will be added to a database used by our waste contractor and relevant council officers to provide the service to those residents who are subscribed to the service. This information will be held in a secure manner. We will not use your information for any other purpose without your permission and we will not hold the information for longer than we need to.

We will treat any personal information by which you can be identified (for example: name, address, email) in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. You can read our privacy notice here.
 

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Additional green bins

You can have a total of 5 green bins per household. You will need one subscription for each green bin collected.

If you want to order additional green bins for the 2024/25 service, please complete our online subscription form and select the relevant option when prompted.

You will need to set up an additional Direct Debit or make another payment by credit/debit card. At the end of the subscription period, multiple Direct Debits will be consolidated into one for the next subscription period.
 

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Charges

The subscription charges for the 2024/25 service are:

We have reduced the first bin subscription charge from £58 to £55 for the 2024/25 service, demonstrating our commitment to both our community and the environment.

We do not offer concessions for this service.
 

You are not entitled to a Council Tax refund if you do not sign up to the garden waste collection service. Council tax is payable towards all services provided by West Berkshire Council, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Police and Crime Commissioner, whether you use the services or not.

You can find out about where the money is spent on our council spending webpage.

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How to pay

You can pay for the 2024/25 subscription by setting up a reoccurring annual Direct Debit or by debit or credit card (1 payment of the full amount). If you pay by card, you will need to complete a new subscription request every year.

You will need to pay a single charge for the full subscription period. There will be no part-year payment option, and you cannot pay in instalments.
 

Setting up a Direct Debit

There are 3 simple steps to setting up a Direct Debit.

Step 1

Complete our online subscription form to tell us your subscription requirements and complete the online Direct Debit mandate.

When completing the mandate you will need to:

• check your name and address details are correct
• provide us with:
  • your account number and sort code
  • the name(s) on the account

Don't worry if you can't type the full names of all account holders into the Direct Debit mandate. We only need one account holder name - this can include just the initial for the first name, but must include the whole surname.

If you are not the only person who can authorise Direct Debits on your account, you can still submit a Direct Debit mandate yourself. This will only be an issue if you require all account holders to authorise Direct Debits on your account. If you are unsure, please contact your bank to confirm.

Step 2

We will send you advance notice of the amount to be taken and when we will collect payment. Please check these details are correct. Contact us at gardenwaste@westberks.gov.uk straight away if you need to query anything.
 

Step 3

Relax. Apart from making sure you have enough money in your account when the payment is due, there is nothing more for you to do.

Changes

If you need to make any changes to the bank details connected to your Direct Debit, please make these directly with your bank. Our payment system will then automatically be updated.
 

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Cancelling your subscription

You have the right to cancel your subscription within 21 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 21 days from the day you subscribe. If you cancel within 21 days from subscription, we will make a full refund. This does not affect your statutory rights or the Direct Debit guarantee.

If you cancel your subscription, your green bin will not be emptied.

We will not issue a refund if you decide to stop using the service, in whole or in part, for any reason outside of the 21-day cancellation period, or outside of the terms of the Direct Debit guarantee.

For full information, please refer to the Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy.
 

Moving house

There are no refunds outside of the cancellation period.

If you move house within the West Berkshire district, please complete our online change of address form, and we will usually be able to transfer your subscription to your new address.

When you leave your old address, please leave all bins at your old property. All bins remain the property of West Berkshire Council.

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Collection

Your green bin will be collected every fortnight on your recycling collection day. Find your next collection day.

You will not receive a subscription sticker for the 2024/25 subscription period.

Thanks to in-cab technology, our collection crews will know which properties are subscribed, removing the need for bin stickers. This will see over 33,000 fewer pieces of paper and plastic issued, saving money, resources, and reducing waste.

If possible, please put your house name or number on the bin(s) to help our collection crews. You don't need to remove any previous subscription stickers.

We will be increasing our monitoring to make sure that only subscribed bins are collected. This will include monitoring by collection crews, council officers conducting spot checks, and removing green bins put out by non-subscribers.

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What goes in your green bin

We will collect:

• grass cuttings
• prunings
• small twigs and branches
• hedge trimmings and leaves
• plants and weeds
• cut flowers
• fallen fruit

Do not put the following in your green bin:

• food waste
• general household waste
• soil, rubble, concrete and wood
• coal and ash
• packaging of any sort
• animal bedding or animal poo

To get the most from your service:

• make sure your bin is out by 6am on your collection day
• check what can go in your green bin
• ensure your bin lid is closed and that there is no excess garden waste left next to the bin
• don't overload your bin - if it is too heavy, we won't be able to empty it
• make sure you return your bin to your property as soon as possible after collection

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Excess garden waste

We do not collect excess garden waste. If you have too much garden waste for your green bin, you can order and pay for an additional garden waste subscription or, alternatively, you can take excess garden waste (for free) to one of our recycling centres.
 

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Collection over Christmas and New Year

The garden waste service will operate for 50 weeks of the year. For a two-week duration over the Christmas and New Year period garden waste will not be collected.

Available data shows that only limited amounts of garden waste are generated by householders around that time of the year due to the cold weather. The extra vehicle and staff resources that become available during this period will be used to support recycling and rubbish collections, which usually increase in demand at that time of the year.

Customers will be able to put out up to 3 open-topped bags of excess garden waste next to each garden waste bin with a subscription on your first garden waste collection date when the service resumes.
 

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Sack collections

If you have sack collections, please see our sack collections webpage for more details.

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Missed collections

If your bin was not collected, you should have received a bin hanger on your bin explaining why. If you didn't receive a bin hanger, please check the list below before reporting a missed collection.

Some of the common issues include:

• there are issues affecting the service - you can check the service status online or follow us on Facebook
• the bin is too heavy - although you may be able to move your bin, the bin lift on the back of the collection vehicle may not be able to lift it safely; please remove some material from the bin before your next collection
• the bin contains the wrong material - please make sure you only put the right materials in your green bin - please check what can go in your green bin above and remove any incorrect materials before your next collection

You can read about missed bin collections, and how to report a missed collection here.

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Broken or missing bins

If your bin is broken or missing, you can request a replacement bin online. There is currently no charge for replacement bins.

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