Green Waste Recycling Scheme

Time and dates of the scheme

Garden waste calendars will be delivered to residents from 15th March 2010. To download a copy of your calendar please go to Your Poole link will open in new window and enter your postcode.

Not all properties are currently included on the garden waste scheme. The properties currently on the scheme were picked using Geographical Information (GIS) mapping information based on the most efficient routing. This is to ensure that as much garden waste as possible is captured and will make a sizeable contribution to our recycling and composting rate.

There are no plans at present to extend the garden waste scheme to other properties however, a feasibility study is due to be undertaken this year to explore the costs and benefits of extending the scheme.

The scheme operates from April to October during British Summer Time to ensure the safety of the collection crews.

During this time a double shift of refuse vehicles is used to maximise the efficiency of the vehicle fleet. Earlier dark evenings mean that the second shift cannot collect safely later in the year. The summer months are also the most efficient period to collect because most garden waste is generated.

Garden waste collections take place between 7am and 9pm. However, if your bin has not been emptied by 9pm on your collection day please do leave the bin out longer than this as the collection crew could be running late.

Bin sizes

A 240 litre green bin is used for the collection of garden waste. Bins are not available in any other size.

Why it is important to get biodegradable waste out of landfill

green_bin Targets have been set to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, this includes paper, garden and food waste.

These items are amongst the most dangerous elements of household rubbish sent to landfill. When they rot down they generate methane, this greenhouse gas is 30 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

Garden waste can be put to good use by converting it into compost and re-introducing it to your garden. It will help to improve the texture, drainage and aeration of the soil and adds nutrients. It is also an environmentally friendly alternative to peat based products.

Home composting and a garden waste service provide a combined approach to disposing of biodegradable waste. Items such as large woody waste that will take a long time to break down can be put in the green bin, whereas uncooked kitchen waste, such as vegetable peelings, can go in your home compost bin and be re-introduced back into your own garden as a soil conditioner.

What can go in the bin

Cardboard
Grass cuttings
Hedge & shrub clippings
Plants & weeds
Leaves
Twigs
Branches and bark
Cut flowers
Pot plant compost

Garden waste can be put in the bin loose. Plastic bags act as contaminants and do not compost down. There is no problem putting items treated with weed killer in the green bin. At the composting facility the composting process works better than in a garden pile and the weed killers will either be broken down organically or be diluted down to a point where they don’t harm the compost

The scheme is for garden waste only. If the waste collected included any food waste either cooked or uncooked it would have to be treated differently at the composting plant.

Cardboard can go in the blue bin and also in the green bin. It may be beneficial to put some cardboard at the bottom of the green bin to absorb any moisture from grass cuttings. Types of cardboard most suitable are large brown cardboard boxes, wine carriers, egg boxes and insides of toilet / kitchen roll.

What can't go in the bin

Any type of plastic
Bin liners
Plastic bags
Plant pots
Food or kitchen waste
Soil, turf, ash or garden chemicals
Stones or rubble
DIY rubbish, timber or sawdust
Animal waste or bedding
Metal or glass

Bins containing any of these materials will not be emptied

What to do if you don't want a bin

If you do not have any garden waste, you can opt out of the scheme. However, garden waste will no longer be accepted in the black wheeled bin in the areas that receive the garden waste scheme. If however, you live in an area with the garden waste service and do not want a bin but would like to home compost, you can apply for a subsidised compost bin.

Alternatively, garden waste can be taken to Nuffield Household Waste Recycling Centre or one of the Mobile Recycling Collection Points.

Once we have removed the garden waste

We will take the garden waste to ECO Composting link will open in new window where it is first shredded, then piled into long heaps called windrows. The piles can reach a temperature of over 70 degrees centigrade, high enough to kill weeds and plant diseases. This material then decomposes into nutrient rich soil improver/conditioner. The compost can be used for many products.