Garden waste collections

Terms and Conditions

1. Description

a. The collection of Garden Waste is a chargeable service.

b. The Council will provide a brown 240-litre wheeled bin or if a property is exempt from having a wheeled bin or if agreed with the Council two 90-litre reusable brown sacks.

c. Your subscription lasts one year from 1 April to 31 March. The collections will be made fortnightly throughout the whole year, except for two weeks over the Christmas period. Specific dates will be provided closer to the time. You will receive a total of 25 collections a year if you subscribe from 1 April.

d. Subscriptions made after 1 April will still end on the 31 March.

e. Between 29 September to mid-November, you can sign up for a half year service which will run from 29 September to 31 March.

2. Eligibility

a. Residents must live within the London Borough of Hounslow.

b. Properties must be accessible by a refuse collection vehicle and operatives.

c. The Garden Waste bin/s or sacks must be stored within the boundary of the property.

d. Residents in flats are not eligible unless the Garden Waste can be presented on the ground floor and is accessible.

e. Schools are eligible to sign up to the Garden Waste Service.

e. Businesses are not eligible for this service.

3. Fees and application

a. The annual charge for the service is £65.00.

b. Payment can be made by all major Debit or Credit Cards except American Express.

c. A 50% discount is offered to those in receipt of Council Tax Reduction (Support). Council Tax Reduction (Support) is a means-tested council tax discount and refers to residents in receipt of income-based Council Tax Reduction (single person occupancy discount or disability band relief does not apply). 

d. When claiming the Council Tax Reduction discount, please ensure that you quote your Council Tax Reduction (Support) 6-digit claims reference number. Officers will check for eligibility.

e. The Half Year Garden Waste Service (running from Sept-Mar) will be charged at £35.40, sign up for the half year service opens in September and closes mid-November.

The Half Year Garden Waste Service (running from Sept-Mar) will be charged at £35.40, sign up for the half year service opens in September and closes mid-November.

The Half Year Garden Waste Service (running from Sept-Mar) will be charged at £35.40, sign up for the half year service opens in September and closes mid-November.

f. You can cancel the service at any time, but we do not offer refunds.

g. Residents will be required to subscribe to the Garden Waste collection service on an annual basis.

h. Once the application has been received, the bin(s) or sacks will be delivered within 10 working days. However, at peak times this may be delayed. If you are renewing your existing service, you should continue to use your current bin(s) or sacks.

i. The replacement charge for a lost or stolen bin(s) or sacks is £65.00. The only exception to this is if it is damaged or lost during the collection process, in which case it will be replaced free of charge.

j. The Council reserves the right to refuse an application for the Garden Waste collection service.

k. The Council reserves the right to amend the fee. Appropriate notice will be given prior to any alteration.

l. We may use the subscription data that we hold to help maintain accurate records, and to facilitate the efficient operation of the Garden Waste service.

4. Refunds

a. No refunds will be provided for cancellation of the service outside of the 14-day cooling off period.

b. If a collection has been missed by the Council, please report it online here, a remedial collection will be provided within two working days, but no excess waste will be taken. See section 8 below.

c. There are no full or part fee refunds for missed collections.

5. Cancelling the service

a. You have 14 days from date of payment to cancel the service if you have not already received the bin(s) or sacks or have had a collection. No refunds will be offered for cancelling the service after this period.

b. You can cancel the service at any time, but we do not offer refunds.

6. The Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks

a. The Garden Waste bin(s) and sacks remain the property of Hounslow Council.

b. The maximum number of sacks per household is 2, the maximum number of bins per household is 10.

c. Only Garden Waste bins or sacks supplied by the Council will be emptied. Garden Waste presented in any other container will not be collected.

d. The resident is responsible for the general condition and cleaning of the Garden Waste bin.

e. Lost or stolen Garden Waste bins will be replaced at a cost of £65.00.

f. The Council does not accept liability for Garden Waste bins used for any other purpose other than for the collection of Garden Waste. Mis-used Garden Waste bins may be removed

g. If you move house within the London Borough of Hounslow you should take your bin(s) or sacks with you. You will need to give 14 days’ notice of the dates that you will be moving to ensure that your service is transferred to your new address. If you move out of the borough you should cancel your subscription and we will make arrangements to collect the bin from you. Any portion of the annual fee remaining is not refundable.

7. Collections

a. Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks must be presented by 7.00am as close to the edge of your property (by the gate) as is safely practical, i.e., the nearest point to the collection vehicle. You must not leave bins or sacks on the public highway; they must remain within your property boundary but should be clearly visible from the road.

b. Collections will be made fortnightly on the same day as your recycling collection (alternate week to your rubbish collection).

c. Following delivery of new Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks, you must wait until your next scheduled collection day for the Garden Waste to be collected. You can look up your collection day on the collection day finder here.

d. The Council reserves the right to alter the collection day but will provide reasonable notice to subscribers.

e. Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks are to be placed at the same point as the recycling boxes for collection on the designated collection day.

f. If you are sharing a service with your neighbour, please ensure the Garden Waste is presented at the address the service is registered to.

g. We reserve the right to suspend collections in exceptional circumstances, for example in adverse weather conditions.

8. Missed Collections

a. A report of a missed collection will not be accepted until after 5pm on the day of collection - once drivers' reports have been checked. This is to avoid sending vehicles back unnecessarily or taking reports when crews may still be working. A missed collection must be reported by 5pm the day after the designated collection day.

b. If the Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks are not presented by 7.00am on the day of collection they cannot be reported as a 'missed collection'. Responsibility for correct disposal of the waste will then become that of the householder.

c. Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks that are not presented for collection by the time the Garden Waste crew arrive at the property will be recorded as a ‘not presented’ or ‘not visible’ on the electronic waste management system.

d. If a bin is recorded on the waste management system as ‘not presented’, the responsibility for disposal will become that of the householder and the Council will not return to collect the waste.

e. Where residents do not present their Garden Waste bin(s) or sacks for collection in accordance with Council requirements, the resident will have the following options

i. Take the waste to a Household Reuse and Recycling Centre. Details of this can be found here

ii. Store the waste until the next collection day.

iii. Pay £10.00 for an additional collection.

f. Should a missed collection be correctly reported (subject to the waste management system not showing the bin as being ‘not presented’, ‘contaminated’ or ‘too heavy’ for collection) the Council will return and collect the waste within 2 working days.

9. Permitted Materials

a. Only loose, compostable, and biodegradable Garden Waste contained within the bin(s) or sacks supplied will be collected.

b. Garden Waste includes grass cuttings, flowers, small tree branches, loose leaves, shrub, hedge trimmings and windfall fruit from your own garden.

c. Garden Waste must not contain large branches (greater than 2cm in diameter), stones, gravel, food waste, flowerpots, bags, containers, or any other kind of contamination.

d. If there are any non-permitted materials in the bin(s) or sacks, we will not collect your garden waste and it will be recorded as 'contaminated' on the electronic waste management system.

e. If the bin(s) or sacks are contaminated it is your responsibility to remove the item(s) of contamination prior to the next collection.

f. Any excess waste placed on top or next to your bin(s) or sacks the container will not be collected.

g. The bin lid must be closed when presented for collection.

h. Garden Waste bins that are overflowing or overweight will not be emptied and you will be required to remove the excess weight before the next collection.

i. Bin(s) or sacks are deemed overweight when operatives are unable to move them or the vehicle’s equipment is unable to lift the bin.

 

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