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Garden waste

Normal service information

Garden waste is an optional paid-for garden waste service. For £60 per year customers get their garden waste such as hedge clippings, grass cuttings, dead leaves etc collected regularly from their home using one of our brown wheeled bins. Garden waste is collected on the same day as your recycling. To check when this is please see the waste collections calendar. Garden collections start at 6am.

If your bin was not emptied – please click here to report a missed bin collection

If your bin is broken or missing please contact the council’s contractor Biffa directly on 03000 610 610 or admin.southoxford@biffa.co.uk

Garden waste service paused over Christmas

To ensure crews are able to collect the additional waste and recycling produced over Christmas, garden waste collections will not take place during between 25 December and 7 January.

The garden waste service resumes from Wednesday 8 January / the week commencing 13 January, depending on your next scheduled collection – if you are unsure when this is, please check Binzone.

New garden waste customers

How to set up a new garden waste account

This process is for new customers only. (If you are an existing customer and want an additional bin (or bins) please complete our garden waste enquiry form.

To set up a new garden waste account please click on the link below which will direct you to our terms and conditions page and from there you can click to be taken to a secure page to complete a Direct Debit Instruction. Please note you will need your bank details to hand.

You will be asked to confirm you have read our terms and conditions.

After setting up your account you will receive a confirmation letter by post and an invoice by email, please note this is not immediate. Your invoice will advise when the first payment will be taken, which will be around 25 days after your invoice is produced.

Please only repeat the application process if your screen displays a failed message.

If you requested a brown bin(s), at this time we aim to deliver within 15 working days from the date you set up your account. You will receive your bin before the first payment is taken.

Note for organisations – A company or organisation is only eligible to apply for the garden waste service if it classed as creating household waste under the Controlled Waste Regulations 2012. Examples of these types of organisations include schools and places of worship. Landlords are only permitted to sign up to the service for their tenants’ use only.  Please note additional charges may apply for this type of application. If you are unsure whether your company or organisation is eligible please contact the waste team using the contact details on the garden waste page.

The service cannot be used by a gardener or grounds maintenance company employed to dispose of garden waste. 

Click here to set up your garden waste account

If you need help setting up the service online, call us using the phone number in the contact section at the bottom of this page.

Account queries

Would you like to hear from us via email?

Please complete our garden waste enquiry form with your customer ID (which can be found on your invoice), confirming your name and address, and the email address you’d like us to use.

Moving house?

  •  If the property you are moving to is within the district, please take your bin with you and let us know your new address using the contact details below so we can arrange collections at your new property.
  • If you are moving to a property outside the district, please let us know when so we can cancel your service. Please leave the bin at your old house when you move.

Other queries

  • Do you want to cancel your garden waste subscription?
  • Do you want to order an additional garden waste bin?
  • Do you have a question about your annual invoice?

For any of the queries above please Please complete our garden waste enquiry form

Will you take extra garden waste if left next to the bin?      

We will only collect waste inside the bin. However we do have Extra Garden Waste Weeks in the Spring and Autumn (more information and dates below) when we will collect extra garden waste (capacity of an extra 240 litre bin’s worth).

What if my property is not suitable for a brown bin but I’d still like the garden waste service?

In exceptional circumstances we can offer biodegradable sacks. We would need to assess the property to confirm a bin is not suitable. Please call the garden waste team using the details at the bottom of this page.

What can you put in the brown bin?

  • Grass
  • Leaves
  • Weeds
  • Flowers and plants
  • Hedge clippings
  • Branches (not more than 10cm thick)
  • Prunings and twigs
  • Windfall fruit
  • Hay / Straw / Sawdust (soiled animal bedding from non-meat eating animals only eg rabbits)
  • Vegetable waste from the garden only eg potato tops (not kitchen waste) 

The waste must be put in loose – no liners or bags

What shouldn’t go in the bin?

If your bin contains anything it shouldn’t, we will leave a note on your bin explaining this and will empty it on your next scheduled garden waste collection if the items have been removed

Spring and  Autumn Extra garden waste weeks

We collect the equivalent of one extra bin’s worth in one week in Spring and in Autumn. Boxes and bags are left at residents’ discretion and will not be replaced if missing or damaged.

Home Composting

For more information about home composting and purchasing a compost bin please visit Oxfordshire Recycles.

What happens to your garden waste

Your garden waste is recycled outside using a process called Open Windrows and the end product is sold to local farmers. We only accept garden waste in our brown bins. This means no packaging not even compostable packaging. As the process happens outdoors, packaging of any kind presents a litter issue.

Anyone who is not a garden waste customer can dispose of garden waste at one of Oxfordshire County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres. These sites are open but please check their website for opening times and any restrictions.

Contact us

If you need to get in touch with us, please complete our garden waste enquiry form or call 01235 422600.

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