Garden waste

Garden waste is an optional paid-for garden waste service. For £69 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.

Please note: if your property is unsuitable for wheelie bins, please call the Garden Waste Team using the details at the bottom of this page and do not use the online form.

Normal service information

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

Extra garden waste collections

If you are subscribed to our brown bin service you can have extra garden waste collected for free, on your normal collection day only, during the following periods in 2024:

• 15 to 26 April, and
• 28 October to 8 November

You can put out a maximum of up to four additional sacks of garden waste, per brown bin subscription, next to your brown bin. 

To be eligible for collection – the extra waste must contain only natural garden waste, such as cut grass, plants or branches and be placed in standard sized (60L) sacks or in boxes / containers totalling no more than a standard bin full. Where possible, please use cardboard boxes as these are much more environmentally friendly than plastic sacks.

Please DO NOT use tonne builders’ waste bags – our crews will not collect any garden waste from these.

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 email our garden waste team gardenwaste@southandvale.gov.uk with your name, address and Customer ID).

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. 

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 email gardenwaste@southandvale.gov.uk 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 email us at gardenwaste@southandvale.gov.uk with your name, address and customer ID.

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?

If your property is unsuitable for wheelie bins, please call the Garden Waste Team using the details at the bottom of this page and do not use the online form.

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?

• Compost bags,
• Plant pots
• Garden tools
• Soil and rubble
• Turf
• No weeds that need reporting to the Environment Agency , like Japanese knotweed and ragwort.  For more information visit the Oxfordshire County Council website

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.