Waste collection policy

The Borough Council operates a chargeable opt-in garden waste kerbside collection service. Residents are able either to choose between:

• garden waste Brown 240 Litre wheeled bin as an annual subscription collected fortnightly with the exception of Christmas
• garden waste bags sold as a pack of 12 or 24 which can be used and collected on an ad hoc basis

The following conditions apply to using this service.

240L wheeled bin annual subscription

The garden waste collection service is an annual subscription service paid in advance and can be joined at any time throughout the year. In the first year the subscription charge for a new customer incorporates a charge for the purchase of the brown bin and in subsequent years they will only pay a renewal charge for collections. Only bins purchased through Great Yarmouth Borough Council may be used as part of this service.

• residents are not limited to just one bin and have the option to subscribe to having multiple bins
• the subscription can be cancelled at any time. However, no refunds will be given in lieu of collections scheduled for the time after the cancellation or for the bin purchased when subscribing to the service
• a pricing review is carried out annually, therefore any increase in price of the garden waste service will be applied as from 1 April each year
• to enable emptying bins must be clearly labelled with the property address - this is to ensure that only properties with a live subscription are emptied
  • bins not labelled may not be emptied
• the bin will be emptied fortnightly during the subscription period
  • new subscribers receive a calendar on delivery of the bin which will advise of the collection day
  • collection dates display as a rolling annual calendar and has taken into account all bank holidays
  • this is not a reflection of the amount of collections paid for but a standardised calendar of dates on which the crews will attend the area
  • dates for collections of all bins will also be available on the Councils website.
• the bin may be placed out after 6pm on the proceeding night of collection and should be placed out for collection by 6:30am on the day of collection
  • they should be taken back onto the curtilage of the property at the earliest opportunity after the collection has taken place
  • bins should be placed in the same location where the recycling/residual bin is placed for collection unless otherwise advised
• All material should be:
  • placed loose in the bin (not bagged)
  • comprised of garden waste only
  • fully contained within the bin as the bin lid must be closed
• The following items can be placed in the garden waste bin:
  • leaves
  • twigs
  • prunings
  • grass cuttings
  • weeds and plants
  • cut flowers
  • small branches (under 10cm in diameter and 60cm in length)
  • plant cuttings
  • hedge clippings
  • uncooked vegetable peelings
• anything not listed is prohibited including soil or turf
• ash trees, leaves and pruning's cannot be accepted in this service for composting due to ash dieback disease
• bins presented for collection that are too heavy to be safely moved by the operatives, or are contaminated with non-garden waste, will not be emptied - in such circumstances it will be down to the householder to remove any offending waste.
  • in such cases the Council will not return to empty the bin until the next scheduled collection - it will be down to the householder to deal with any additional waste as a result of the non-collection or arrange an additional empty which would be chargeable
• any additional garden waste, or waste not associated with the garden waste service left on top or at the side of the garden waste bin, will not be collected
• no refunds will be given for missed bins - arrangements will be made for their separate collection provided they were at the designated collection point by 6:30am on the day of the programmed collection
  • where a resident has not placed a bin out for collection it will be assumed no collection is required
• severe weather conditions or other events outside our control may prevent collections taking place
  • if a collection cannot take place on a households allocated day for these reasons, we will make reasonable attempts to collect the waste as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so - in these circumstances no refunds will be given though where we are unable to provide a collection the Council will look to extend a households subscription accordingly
• as the resident has purchased the bin it remains their property - accordingly, the bin and subscription may be taken with them should the householder move address
• if the householder does move address, it will be down to them to notify the Council they wish to continue with the garden waste service at their new address to continue to receive collections
• where a resident no longer wishes to subscribe to the service the bin remains their property
  • the Council will remove this bin for a charge if required
• should the bin become damaged due to misuse, lost, stolen, or general wear and tear there will be a charge for a replacement bin - no charge will be applied if the bin is damaged while in the process of being emptied by an operative of Great Yarmouth Services Ltd within the first twelve months of subscribing to the service
• where a bin falls into the refuse collection vehicle during the emptying process the Council will replace the bin free of charge
• households are able to share a bin - those wishing to do this must register the bin to one property from which the collections will be made and make one subscription payment
• the council will publish its terms and conditions for using the service on its website
• the Council will inform residents when renewal of their garden waste service is due and instructions on how to pay for this renewal
• where a resident does not renew their subscription collections will automatically stop

Garden waste bags

Residents not wishing to a regular collection service are able to purchase compostable garden waste bags.

• these are provided in bundles of 12 or 24
• what may be placed in these bags is identical to those listed under the garden waste subscription service
• when a resident fills bags and requires a collection they should contact the Council to arrange this - a resident can arrange collection for however many bags they have filled and are not obliged to use them all in one collection
• collection will occur the next time the garden waste vehicle is operating in that area
• bags should be placed out for collection after 6pm on the proceeding night of collection and should be placed out for collection by 6:30am on the day of collection - bags should be placed in the same location where the recycling/residual bin is placed for collection unless otherwise advised
• only garden waste contained within the bags will be collected
• no refunds will be given for unused bags