Over 10,000 new subscribers to Buckinghamshire Council’s garden waste collection service

Over 10,000 new subscribers have already signed up and paid an annual fee for Buckinghamshire Council’s garden waste collection service. Approximately 90%* of these subscribers signed up by visiting the council’s website. It’s simple, easy and can take as little as 60 seconds to subscribe to the garden waste collection service online.

The uptake of subscribers is a result of Buckinghamshire Council introducing a single ‘opt in’ chargeable garden waste collection service for all residents in the county. This means that those who have previously received free collections of garden waste will now have to subscribe to the service and pay an annual fee to continue receiving collections from Monday 26 September.

Over 56,000 households in the southern part of Buckinghamshire already pay the £50 annual subscription to have their garden waste collected – making it an opt-in service for all residents will mean that only those who use it pay. For those who currently receive garden waste collections but are not subscribed and do not wish to subscribe to the chargeable service, last collections of garden waste will take place on the weeks commencing either 12 September or 19 September.

Residents who do not wish to sign up and benefit from fortnightly kerbside collections are reminded that garden waste can continue to be taken to one of Buckinghamshire’s Household Recycling Centres where it will be recycled free of charge.

Aligning charges for Buckinghamshire Council’s garden waste collection service will ensure parity across all areas and all Buckinghamshire residents are treated equally.

Councils are not required by law to collect garden waste free of charge and not everyone uses the service. Making it an opt-in chargeable garden waste service is an important way to prioritise essential council services and ensures only those who use the service, pay for the service.

As part of the chargeable garden waste service, all subscribers will be provided with a sticker displaying the property address to attach to the bin – this enables crews to easily identify which bins are eligible for collection. If not already subscribed, residents can continue to sign up at any time for the chargeable garden waste service.

Please note, not all subscription stickers will arrive prior to Monday 26 September but all garden waste bins with a valid paid-for subscription will be collected and emptied after this date.

Find out more about Buckinghamshire Council’s garden waste collection service.