Changes Coming This Spring to Garden Waste Service

Green fingered residents who use the garden waste service in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts will have a change to their service subscriptions this year.  

Each year, the two districts combined collect around 25,500 tonnes of garden waste – that’s the weight of over 5,000 mature oak trees or 3,000 large tractors! 

As this is a change to how the garden waste service is managed, there are actions subscribers will need to take to continue receiving garden waste collections. The new permit payment system opens towards the end of February. 

When the new system goes live, all existing customers will be invited to subscribe to the service. Existing customers will be notified directly, with full information on the council websites and each house getting a bin hanger flagging the changes.  

Customers will then need to make an annual payment for a permit – this replaces the existing direct debit scheme. Everyone’s payment year will run from 1 April to 31 March each year. 

When customers sign-up they will be sent a garden waste permit sticker to put on the top of the lid of their brown bin. Each bin needs its own permit and all customers will receive a new sticker annually each time they renew. 

The permits will help the waste collection crews identify which bins should be emptied. This will ensure that only households that have paid for the service have their garden waste bins emptied and the changes are part of the councils’ ongoing work to improve the efficiency and value of public services. 

Benefits to customers include a new online system so they can manage their account and change their details much more easily. This will also mean the councils can contact people quickly if there are any major disruptions to the service, such as during adverse weather. When customers pay for a permit, there will be a link to sign up for an account and the account sign up is also available on the councils’ websites.