Garden waste collection service: terms and conditions

These terms and conditions set out the rights and obligations of the service user and the Council.

Subscription

• The garden waste collection service is an annual subscription service paid in advance and can be joined at any time throughout the year. In the first year the subscription charge for a new customer incorporates a charge for the purchase of the brown bin and in subsequent years you will only pay a renewal charge for collections. You are not limited to just one bin, therefore if you have a large garden additional bins and the associated service charge can be purchased. Please visit the budgeting information page where the Council's fees and charges document is published each year.
• The subscription can be cancelled at any time. However, no refunds will be given in lieu of collections scheduled for the time after the cancellation or for the bin purchased when subscribing to the service.
• A pricing review is carried out annually, therefore any increase in price of the garden waste service will be applied as from 1 April each year.

Collections

• Please ensure your bin is clearly labelled with your address. If the bin is not identified as belonging to your property, it will not be emptied.
• The bin will be emptied fortnightly during the subscription period. New subscribers receive a calendar on delivery of the bin which will advise of the collection day. Collection dates display as a rolling annual calendar and has taken into account all bank holidays. This is not a reflection of the amount of collections you have paid for but a standardised calendar of dates on which the crews will attend your area. Dates for collections of all bins can be found by using the Find my waste collection days function.
• The bin should be placed out for collection by 06:30am on the day of collection and taken back onto the curtilage of your property at the earliest opportunity after the collection has taken place. Bins should be placed at the front of your property close to the road unless otherwise directed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council or Great Yarmouth Services Ltd. When leaving the bin on the footpath or verge, please leave in a way not to cause an obstruction to pedestrians.
• All material should be:
  • placed loose in the bin (not bagged)
  • comprised of garden waste only
  • fully contained within the bin as the bin lid must be closed
• The following items can be placed in your brown bin:
  • leaves
  • twigs
  • prunings
  • grass cuttings
  • weeds and plants
  • cut flowers
  • small branches (under 10cm in diameter and 60cm in length)
  • plant cuttings
  • hedge clippings
  • uncooked vegetable peelings
• Anything not listed is prohibited.
• Bins presented for collection that are too heavy to be safely moved by our operatives, or are contaminated with non-garden waste, will not be emptied.
• Any additional garden waste, or waste not associated with the garden waste service left on top or at the side of your bin, will not be collected.
• No refunds will be given for missed bins. Arrangements will be made for their separate collection provided they were at the designated collection point by 06:30am on the day of the programmed collection.
• Severe weather conditions or other events outside our control may prevent collections taking place. If a collection cannot take place on your allocated day for these reasons, we will make reasonable attempts to collect the waste as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so. Please note in these circumstances no refunds will be given.

Moving house/transferring bin to another address

• The bin is your property and may be taken with you should you move address. If you are remaining in the Borough and wish to continue with the garden waste service at your new address, please contact Great Yarmouth Services Ltd so its records can be updated, and the necessary arrangements made to enable you to continue to receive collections.
• Your subscription can be transferred to another address within the Borough for someone else to make use of should you feel you no longer require the service, but this will be subject to an administration charge.

Miscellaneous

• Should the bin become damaged due to misuse, lost or stolen, there will be a charge for a replacement bin to be delivered. No charge will be applied if the bin is damaged while in the process of being emptied by an operative of Great Yarmouth Services Ltd within the first twelve months of subscribing to the service.
• Customers wishing to share a bin must register the bin to one property from which the collections will be made and make one subscription payment.