Garden Waste FAQ's

Garden waste only including:
•    Grass cuttings
•    Hedge clippings
•    Small tree prunings, branches, bark and twigs
•    Tree branches (up to 3cm in diameter)
•    Moss, weeds (excluding controlled weeds such as Japanese Knotweed)
•    Flowers
•    Plants with excess soil removed
•    Fallen fruit
•    Leaves
•    Real Christmas trees without decorations and pot
 

For a comprehensive list of what can be included, please the ‘What goes in my bin’ page or the ‘Recycling Info’ section on the Your East Herts app. 

• Food waste
• Pet bedding
• Animal faeces
• Cat litter
• Soil
• Rubble
• Cardboard or paper
• Mixed recycling
• Nappies
• General waste 

Please note: if incorrect materials are found in your bin, we won’t be able to collect it. 

For a comprehensive list of what can be included, please the ‘What goes in my bin’ page or the ‘Recycling Info’ section on the Your East Herts app. 

Like many councils, we continue to face significant financial pressures and mut prioritise essential statutory services. Garden waste collections are not a service we are legally required to provide, and so councils are allowed to charge for them.

Introducing a subscription ensures the garden waste service is self‑financing, so it does not take funding away from services that all residents rely on. Only households that choose to use the service pay for it, which is fairer than subsidising it through general council tax, especially as not all properties have a garden or need this service.

Many councils across England now charge for garden waste collections and have done so for several years.

There is no legal requirement to collect garden waste this means that it is not required to be covered by your council tax payment and therefore many Councils charge for this service in order to continue to be able to offer collections of garden waste. 

The alternative was that East Herts removed collection of garden waste as a service completely.

 Councillors agreed that it was important to continue to offer a garden waste collection service for residents who wish to use it. 

Council tax itself is a mandatory payment which covers a variety of services such as fire, police, adult social care and children’s services including education. You may not use all these services but you still have to pay your council tax. 

This change brings the garden waste collection in-line with other not legally required, pay for services, such as bulky waste collections, which is a service only paid for by people who use it.

No, if you decide not to sign up to the Garden Waste Service, you do not need to contact us to tell us. The brown bin service is ‘opt-in’ which means you only need to contact us if you do wish to sign up.

You could compost your garden waste at home: information about home composting. You could also look into a private waste collection, although remember to check that any company has a waste carriers’ licence.

You cannot burn your garden waste if this creates a nuisance to your neighbours. If you have space for a bonfire, we encourage you to use this space to home compost. Some dry garden waste may be suitable to burn but be mindful of your neighbours, as a sunny dry day is often a washing day. More information about bonfires is available on the gov.uk website.

We strongly discourage residents from placing garden waste in your non-recyclable waste bin as there are alternative, more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of it. Residents can sign up to the Garden Waste Service or compost at home. However, if you do not produce a large amount of garden waste and have sufficient space in your non-recyclable waste bin, then garden waste can be placed in there. This is providing that the bin is not over-filled and that you do not place additional side waste out next to your non-recyclable waste bin on your general waste collection day. Additional side waste won’t be collected, and neither will over-filled bins

Your garden waste gets sent to Cumberlow Green to be processed, by In Vessel Composting. It can then be used a soil conditioner which puts valuable nutrients back into the ground.

Pet bedding is not garden waste and therefore would be classed as general non-recyclable waste and so should be placed in your purple-lidded bin. 

From a legislative point of view, we are only able to charge residents for removal of their garden waste, and cat litter – even if it is biodegradable, does not fall into this category. However, you may wish to compost it at home.

No, we are unable to accommodate payment by instalments in our payment system. The cost of doing this would increase the cost of providing the service overall.

We are not able to accept cash or cheques for the Garden Waste Service. The service is administered via an online portal and as such cheque and cash payments cannot be accepted.

You can sign up at any point before we close the payment portal for the next year’s subscription service however the cost will be £61 irrespective of how many months are left of the subscription period.

We cannot offer a pro-rata charge as it is necessary for us to plan resources, ensuring we have sufficient vehicles and staff throughout the year. Having a fixed sign up period allows for administration of the service to also be contained in a short period. Having a pro rata service would likely result in a higher overall charge requiring ‘just in case’ resources to manage changes in sign up volumes.

If you do not re-subscribe, then your garden waste bin collections will stop at the end of March. You do not need to tell us you are not re-subscribing unless you are a Direct Debit customer, in which case you will need to let us know so we can cancel this for you. Please contact us at wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk

Yes, you can sign up to receive a collection for up to a total of three garden waste bins. You will need to pay for each additional bin to be delivered, and for a permit for each additional bin.

To increase the number of subscriptions you have you can access your account and add a second or third service to your address. If you wish to reduce the number of subscriptions, you have via direct debit please email wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk so we can do this for you. 

If you do not wish to pay again for the next year subscription period, please email us at wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk so we can cancel this for you.

Direct Debit payments will be taken on or around the 20 March 2026, we will write to you in advance to confirm a payment will be taken. 

Please be advised that the garden waste collection charge for 2026/27 is £61 per subscription.

We are not currently able to accept new Direct Debits.

It is worth initially checking the ‘junk’ folder of your emails. It’s possible your receipt is there. If you still have any concerns you can log back into the website and check your order history. Your orders will show as ‘completed’ if your payment was processed successfully.

Please allow up to 14 days for your sticker to arrive. If you have not received it within three weeks of payment please contact us. If you have paid by Direct Debit your permit may be issued up to 10 days after the payment has been taken (this includes payments that are recurring). Crews will know that you have paid so please continue to present your garden waste bin for collection whilst you wait for your permit to arrive. 

Collection vehicles will have an electronic record of which addresses have signed up. Clearly numbering your bin(s) will also help to ensure that the crew can easily identify it for collection. You will also receive a sticker through the post to place on your bin to identify it as part of the service. This sticker needs to be displayed to ensure your garden waste bin is emptied.

Yes, the Council will still provide sacks free of charge, but you will still need to sign up and pay for a subscription. If you require sacks, please contact us at Customer.Services@eastherts.gov.uk . You can have up to 75 sacks per subscription. 

If you live in a flat but you have your own garden you can still opt into the service. If you have communal gardens you should contact your managing or housing association as they will be responsible for the removal of garden waste.

You can share a garden waste bin with your neighbour as an informal arrangement, but payment must be made by one householder and the bin will be assigned to one address only.

If you sign up to the service and you already have an assisted collection this will continue. If you don't currently have an assisted collection but require one then please apply online.

Real Christmas trees can be recycled in your garden waste if you are subscribed to the service. Larger trees must be cut up and placed beside your bin on garden waste collection week. Remember to remove all decorations, tinsel stands, and pots. 

This is to enable crews to focus their resources on the recycling and refuse services which experience high volumes of tonnage at this busy time. 

You can still place your Christmas tree next to your garden waste bin on your first collection in January, freeing space for your other garden waste. Please make sure it is free of decorations.

This Christmas break was advertised at the time of subscription/renewal of the garden waste service and is detailed in the service terms and conditions.
 

Yes, if you move to a new house within the district, you can take the service (but not the bin) with you to your new property. You will need to inform us that you have moved and give details of both the old and new addresses. If you move out of the district, there is no refund available as you would have already received the service for a period before moving properties. Please note if there is no garden waste bin at your new property then you will need to purchase one.

You will need to contact us at wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk  to advise us if you have moved, we will need to update your address on your account for you and change the collections to your new property. 

If you pay by Direct Debit then yes please email us wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk. If you pay annually then no, you can resubscribe with your new account next year.

Yes please email us at wasteandrecycling@north-herts.gov.uk so we can update our records.

Contact us for a replacement sticker, once we verify your subscription, we will cancel your old permit and issue a replacement for you. This could take up to 14 days to arrive