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We offer a garden waste collection service where you can sign up to have your garden waste collected every two weeks. Collections are made between 7am and 4pm on your scheduled date.
The service year runs from 1 April to 31 March and the full subscription fee applies regardless of when in the year you join. For 2025/26, the fee is £64.25 and each subscription requires a council-supplied bin, which costs a one-off £41 for the delivery and loan.
The new subscription service starts on April 1 each year and subscriptions are not automatically renewed. We will let you know the fee in mid-February and invite you to reapply.
twigs and small branches (branches must be smaller than 9cm in diameter)
prunings and hedge clippings
flowers and plants
weeds (except Japanese Knotweed and ragwort)
soil and turf
rubble and stones
cooked foods and kitchen waste
wood
all non organic waste
garden chemicals
pet litter/bedding
wood chippings
We will collect your garden waste once a fortnight. Collections are made between 7am and 4pm on your scheduled date.
Garden waste must be placed inside your 240 litre wheeled bin. Any garden waste presented outside of your wheeled bin will not be collected.
You will receive up to 25 collections a year, missing one over the two week break at Christmas. You will be notified when this will be.
The wheeled bins are 240 litres. If you overload your garden waste bin it may not be collected.
The collection crew must be able to safely wheel the bin to the collection vehicle and the vehicle must be able to lift the bin to empty its contents.
Additional subscriptions and bins can be purchased should you wish to have more than one.
You will need to buy another subscription and a garden waste bin to be able to put out more than one wheeled bin for collection.
Once you have paid for your first subscription, you can buy additional subscriptions by visiting our customer portal.
The request subject is called 'Waste Services - Additional Garden Waste Subscription Only'. This form will allow you to pay for a second garden waste subscription.
To buy another garden waste bin, you repeat the process and log a request for 'Waste Services - Additional Garden Waste Bin'.
If you have an assisted collection for your recycling and general waste you will also receive an assisted collection for your garden waste provided that none of the limitations stated in Clause 5 of the 2025/26 Garden Waste Service Terms and Conditions (see below) exist.
Place your garden waste wheeled bin on the front boundary of your property by 7am on collection day unless you have a pre agreed collection point.
Green garden waste is delivered to Hope Farm composting facility near Capel-le-Ferne.
The green waste is composted using the ‘windrow’ process. This involves the material being shredded and placed into rows called windrows, they are two to four metres high and up to 100 metres long.
The temperature and moisture content is closely monitored, any water that is released is captured in tanks and returned to the heap to keep the process moving.
The rows are turned every three to five days to introduce fresh oxygen into the mixture. The high temperatures reached ensure any pathogens, diseases and seeds are destroyed.
Once the heap has composted it is put through a trommel to remove larger uncomposted items and unwanted debris. The larger uncomposted items are reintroduced to the windrow with fresh green waste to continue the process.
The entire composting process takes about 16 weeks, with the finished soil improver being used for horticultural use.
The Hope Farm facility can process up to 12,000 tonnes of organic material collected by local authorities per year. Kent authorities use a number of local composting plants to manage more than 32,000 tonnes of green garden waste residents produce each year.
