We only collect from households that have subscribed to the Garden Waste Collection Service and display a valid sticker on their green bin.
Subscriptions for April 2026 to March 2027 will be available on this page from the end of February 2026. Please check back then for more information. If you would like a reminder, you can sign up to our News4You e-alert newsletter and select waste and recycling as your preference.
If you need a subscription for the remainder of the current collection year (until 31 March 2026) please contact Customer Services on 020 8207 7480.
If you have signed up to the garden waste collection your green bin will be collected fortnightly on the same day as your brown recycling bin. Check your bin collection day and download the correct calendar for your household.
FAQs
No. Green bins are for garden waste only.
Food and garden waste are not processed together. Food waste is taken to a special processing facility, where it will be used to create energy for local homes and fertiliser for local farmland.
Garden waste is sent separately for open windrow composting. The risk of contamination and spread of disease are a much greater risk if food waste makes its way into the mix.
Food waste will not be accepted in your green garden waste bin and any bins found containing food waste will not be emptied.
Please use your silver food waste bin for all food waste. If you are a property that is yet to receive a food bin, you can use your black refuse bin.
It is an opt-in paid for service to have garden waste collected fortnightly from your green bin.
No. Garden waste is a non-statutory service so the money Street Scene Services receives from council tax payments is not used to pay for the current garden waste service.
The subscription cost for collections from April 2025 is £50 for the first green bin. There will be a concessionary rate of £35 for those claiming Council Tax support. Additional bin subscriptions are £60 each with a maximum of three green bins collected per property. Additional bins to purchase are £44 per bin.
Once you have signed up to the service you will receive an acknowledgment email and then a letter through the post that contains your subscription sticker. You should follow the instructions and put this on your bin as soon as you receive it. If you are signed up to the service you will automatically receive a renewal reminder to the email provided each year before the new year's subscription is due.
Stickers can take up to 10 days to arrive. If it has been longer than 10 days and you still haven't received your sticker please contact us.
Yes, you can sign up at any time, but the cost will remain the same throughout the year regardless of when you sign up.
Yes. You can sign up to receive a collection of up to three green bins in total. Additional bins to purchase are £44 each and subject to a £60 subscription charge.
The garden waste service will run throughout the year except for two weeks (one collection) over the Christmas/New Year period.
You will receive a permit sticker through the post which must be placed on your bin to identify it as part of the current year's subscription. You should put this on your bin as soon as you receive it. The sticker should be displayed on the back of your bin underneath the handles and the bin should be presented for collection with the handles and sticker facing out toward the road, so the sticker is clearly visible to the collection crew. Clearly numbering your bin(s) will help to ensure that the crew can easily identify it for collection.
You should store your bin within your property boundary until collection day in the same way that you would with your other bins.
Yes, if you already have an assisted collection for your green bin this will continue.
If you decide not to sign up to the Garden Waste Collection Service, you do not need to contact us to tell us. You are free to keep your bin and use it for storage but if you would like us to remove it please contact us to arrange.
There is always the option to compost garden waste at home. We have partnered with Get Composting to offer compost bins at a subsidised rate. Please visit www.getcomposting.com or for more information on how to get started see Home Composting.
You can also take your garden waste to your local Recycling Centre. Please note this is for garden waste only.
We strongly discourage residents from placing garden waste in the black bin as there are alternative, more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of it.
You can compost garden waste at home. We have partnered with Get Composting to offer compost bins at a subsidised rate. Please visit www.getcomposting.com or for more information on how to get started see Home Composting.
You can also take your garden waste to your local Recycling Centre. Additional side waste and overfilled bins will not be collected.
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 agent or housing association, as they will be responsible for the removal of garden waste.
You can share a green garden waste bin with your neighbour as an informal arrangement, but we can only deal with one account holder.
Garden waste including:
✓ Grass cuttings ✓ Hedge clippings
✓ Small tree prunings, branches/twigs and bark ✓ Flowers
✓ Tree branches (up to 6 inches in diameter),
✓ Plants with excess soil removed ✓ Leaves
✓ Moss, weeds (excluding controlled weeds such as Japanese Knotweed)
✓ Real Christmas trees without decorations or a pot.
X Food waste is no longer accepted in the green bin. Please put it in your silver food waste bin or if you don't yet have a food waste bin it can go in your black refuse bin.
You can email customer.services@hertsmere.gov.uk with your name, address and your request. As per the Garden Waste Terms and Conditions (PDF, 1.92mb) any cancellations need to be within 14 days of payment.
If you move house the service will continue at your old address and the new owners can decide upon renewal if they wish to carry on with the service. If you move house within Hertsmere and would like to continue using the garden waste service you will need to purchase a new subscription.
Their green bin will not be collected. Only bins with a relevant subscription sticker on will be emptied.
The sticker has your address and an individual reference number on it so can’t be used by anyone else. Check your neighbour's bins in case they have brought it in by mistake. If it doesn’t turn up, please contact us to arrange for a replacement sticker to be sent out. This will be different in design to the original sticker, so our crew know to only empty the bin with this new sticker on.
No, this service is non-refundable. Please check that your bin was out on the correct day/week, on the boundary on time and didn't contain anything it shouldn’t. If all of these apply then please contact us within 48 hours of your collection or fill in our online Missed collections report form within 48 hours of your scheduled collection and we will return to collect it.
Food waste
Food waste should go in your silver food waste bin. Your green bin is for garden waste only. Some properties won't receive a silver food waste bin until end of March 2026. If this is the case, please put your food waste in your black refuse bin.
What to put in your green bin
Grass and hedge cuttings
Small tree prunings, twigs and bark
Tree branches (up to 6 inches in diameter)
Plants with excess soil removed
Moss, weeds (excluding controlled weeds such as Japanese Knotweed)
Real Christmas trees (cut up)
Flowers
Leaves
Items to keep out of your green bin
Food waste
Paper (including paper towels, tissues, cotton wool, make-up pads and wet wipes)
Cardboard
Brown paper/envelopes/shredded paper
Treated wood, e.g. baskets, fence panels, furniture
Soil/turf
Dog poo or cat litter
Plastic packaging
Any packaging that says it is compostable
Heavy or compacted garden waste. We will not empty your bin if it is overloaded or too heavy as a result of compacted garden waste. If this happens you will need to remove the load or blockage so we can empty on the next scheduled collection.
Compostable plastic We cannot accept any items labelled as compostable in the green bin. Please take time to read more about this by clicking the button below.
