Library image Photo: Hawkinge Gazette
It’s time to start to think about preparations for when your garden springs back to life – and to renew your subscription or sign up for Dover District Council’s garden waste collection service.
This comes as DDC rolls out new wheeled bins for the garden waste collection service, which renews from 1 April 2024.
The change from garden waste sacks to wheeled bins is designed to make it easier and safer for householders and collection crews to move garden waste. The change brings DDC in line with all the other Kent authorities, who already use wheeled bins for their garden waste service.
The annual fee for fortnightly garden waste collections is £62.65 per subscription. The service runs from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and provides 25 collections a year, with a break during the Christmas period. And remember, being a subscriber to the service also allows you to have your real Christmas tree collected in your first collections after Christmas.
For existing customers, who are renewing their subscription, DDC is providing a 240 litre wheeled bin for free. Existing customers who are unable to receive a wheeled bin (for example because of no storage space/restricted access/steps at their property) or whose property cannot be accessed by the collection vehicle, will be able to apply for a free home garden waste composter instead, which is an excellent way to help the environment.
- For new subscribers, who are not already using the service, there will also be a charge of £40 for the new 240L garden waste wheeled bin.
- Additional bins: any subscriber can apply for second or further subscriptions (at £62.65 each) and will also need to purchase additional 240L bins for these additional subscriptions (at a further cost of £40 each).
- Assisted bin collection: as with standard household waste collections, assisted collections are available for garden waste, with the same eligibility criteria applied (e.g. wheeled bins cannot be moved up/down steps) – details can be found on the DDC website.
- Customers are advised to renew/subscribe by 29 February 2024 to ensure their new garden waste bin is supplied by 1 April.
Cllr Edward Biggs, DDC Cabinet Member for waste, said:
“We are very pleased to continue to provide this service for households. We recognise this is an important service for people and these changes ensure we can continue to offer a safe and cost-effective service for the residents of our district. Residents have a range of options for recycling garden waste, from home composting or garden waste collections, to using KCC’s household waste recycling centres. The convenience of kerbside collections remains popular, and the key changes we’ve made with rolling out wheeled bins will enable us to make the service easier to use, safer and more efficient.”
For more information, or to renew/sign up for your subscription, please see the garden waste on the DDC website at www.dover.gov.uk/gardenwaste