How can I dispose of my garden waste?

You cannot dispose of garden waste in your rubbish bin.  There are three options to dispose of garden waste in Epsom & Ewell.

Home composting is the most environmentally friendly option Surrey County Council's Civic Amenity Site (the "Tip") at Blenheim Road accepts garden waste for recycling and is open seven days a week Join our fortnightly kerbside garden waste recycling service for an annual charge. See below for details of how this could work for you.

Who can join the kerbside garden waste recycling service?

All households in the Borough can join. If you live in a flat, you may wish to consider communal collections where residents share a number of central recycling bins.  Please contact us for details.

Collections are not available to commercial organisations.

How much does it cost?

Your subscription is a one-off payment entitling you to one year's service. You can choose from 240-litre brown wheeled bins or 60-litre reusable sacks.

240-litre bins cost £39.50 each per year. A discount of £1 per bin is available for subscriptions paid by Direct Debit.  Request a Direct Debit form.

60-litre reusable sacks cost £9.90 each per year.  They are designed to hold a maximum of ten kilogrammes of material. A discount of 30p per sack is available for subscriptions paid by Direct Debit.  Request a Direct Debit form.

A discount of 50% is available to recipients of certain means-tested benefits. If you wish to receive this discount, please visit the Town Hall to join the service as we will require proof of original documentation to confirm your eligibility.

Subscriptions are based on a twelve-month, non-refundable agreement.

How do I join?

Call us on 01372 732000 to join, and for details of how to pay, including by Direct Debit. Please note:

• Payments made by credit card are subject to a 1.5% charge
• If you wish to pay by cash or cheque in person at the Town Hall, from 1 December 2011 our cashiers office will be open between 10am and 2pm.
• You can also join the service online.

Please note: if you wish to receive the discount available to recipients of certain means-tested benefits please visit the Town Hall to join the service.

How do I renew my annual subscription?

Direct Debit customers need take no further action. We will automatically notify you each year that we are collecting a further yearly subscription and your service will continue uninterrupted.

If you subscribe using any other payment method we will contact you in advance of your subscription expiring to ask whether you wish to subscribe for a further year.

What can I recycle?

We collect a range of organic garden waste:

Grass cuttings Plants and weeds Leaves Prunings and clippings Flowers Straw and hay Twigs*

* To help the processing of material by our composting agent, we must restrict the amount of woody material entering the recycling stream. As a guide, twigs and small branches up to the width of your wrist may be recycled.

There are some items such as ivy, bindweed and other weeds which you would not normally wish to compost in a home compost bin, however, they can be recycled through our garden waste recycling service. This is because the higher temperatures used in the commercial composting process effectively break down the material and render it safe for use. The same goes for the first grass cutting taken after the application of weedkiller.

Non-recyclable items

Please do not recycle any of the following using this service:

Any food waste (including vegetable peelings, even if from vegetables grown in your own garden) Household rubbish or plastics Flower pots, trays or plastic sacks Soil*, stones, bricks, gravel, rubble or ashes Fallen fruit Large branches** or tree trunks, bark or wood Pet waste.

* Root balls will be accepted for recycling if substantially shaken free of soil.
** As a guide, please do not recycle branches that are thicker than the width of your wrist.

Food waste

We do not accept food waste with your garden waste recycling.

To satisfy regulations brought in after the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic, food waste is subject to a more complex and expensive recycling process than garden waste. This ensures that all potentially harmful bacteria are killed.

What happens to the garden waste I recycle?

It is composted at commercially and used in commercial and agricultural projects.

When will my recycling be collected?

We collect fortnightly, on the same day as your normal rubbish collection.  Subscribers to the service receive a calendar notifying them of their collections for the year. Contact us if you require a further copy of your garden waste recycling calendar.

Please leave your garden waste bin or sack out for collection on the kerbside, next to your rubbish bin, by 6:30am.

Does this affect my normal waste and recycling collections?

No.

 

Are assisted collections available for the elderly or disabled?

Yes. Subject to approval, collections can be made from your front door or side gate.  Please advise us of this requirement when you call to join.

What if I have a large load of garden waste to recycle?

Large loads of garden waste can be collected for a separate payment. A minimum amount of a half lorry-load applies.

Please note that each request must first be assessed by our Operational Services department. We will check that the material is uncontaminated by non-recyclable items prior to loading it onto the vehicle. We will only be able to offer a collection service for garden waste if it is uncontaminated and fully suitable for recycling.

Contact us for further information and to request the service.