Garden waste collection terms and conditions

Details about our service, what you need to do and what you can expect from us. This includes how to cancel your subscription, what to do if you move house and our policy on refunds.

By subscribing to our garden waste collection service, you accept the following terms and conditions: 

1. Service description

There is a charge for the garden waste collection service. For more details, please read Clause 3 of these terms and conditions.

We’ll provide you with a stickers for your bins. You must place the stickers underneath the handle of each bin you have a subscription for. 

We’ll empty the bin on a day we specify, every two weeks. The service runs between April and March. There are no collections in the non-growing seasons in December, January and February.  We’ll carry out a maximum of 20 garden waste collection per household during this period. 

2. Service eligibility

We’ll make every effort to offer our garden waste collection service to all households with a garden - where possible for us to do so within our current resources. 

Our refuse collection vehicles must be able to easily access each collection area and property. They must be able to:

  • empty the bin
  • manoeuvre (turn around) the collection vehicle easily and safely

The garden waste collection scheme is only available to properties that: 

  • have a garden 
  • lie within the identified scheme area 
  • are located on an adopted or planned adopted highway

3. Application process and/or payment

If you choose to subscribe to the garden waste collection service, you must do so on an annual (yearly) basis.

We reserve the right to refuse an application for the garden waste collection service, where it is not possible to do so within current resources.

The payment for the collection service in 2026 will be £60, per bin. 

We offer various payment methods, including:

  • an online form
  • over the telephone 

Once we receive your payment, we’ll issue a garden waste sticker within 14 days. 

You can register throughout the year. The cost is £60 for the collection service, regardless of when you sign up. If you register late, you’ll receive fewer collections during the period of service. We do not offer refunds. 

We send renewal notices in advance. If you do not renew, we’ll stop collecting without further notice from March of the renewal year. 

We reserve the right to vary the fee and will give appropriate notice prior to any alteration.  

We have a duty to keep our records up to date. Therefore, you must notify us if you change your personal details. 

4. Stickers

We’ll send your proof of payment sticker once your renewal payment has cleared. Your sticker must remain attached to the outside of the bin as instructed for us to collect it. 

5. Refunds

If you cancel your service, we will not provide a refund. The exception to this is if you cancel under clause 14 of these terms and conditions.

We may cancel the service to a household if there is any misuse of the service or the garden waste bins. There will be no refund in these circumstances. 

If we have missed a collection, we’ll make every effort to rectify the problem. Where this is not possible, there will be no partial or full refund offered. 

6. The garden waste bin

Garden waste bins are for households to use, but they remain our property unless otherwise agreed.

You can request additional garden waste bins. The costs for this are: 

  • a one-off fee of £25 per bin
  • the collection service fee which is £60 per bin

We’ll log and issue requests for garden waste bins within 10 working days of your payment. 

Exceptions to this clause apply: 

  • during inclement weather 
  • in cases of operational difficulty 
  • any event of ‘Force Majeure’
  • during the winter suspension period, which runs from December to February (inclusive) 

We’ll only empty garden waste bins that we have supplied. We will not collect garden waste from any other container. 

We’ll supply bins in a clean and useable condition. Households are responsible for the general cleaning and condition of the bin whilst it’s in their possession. 

We will not accept liability for garden waste bins that have been used for any purpose other than the collection of garden waste. 

We may remove bins that have been misused. No refund will be offered. We may charge households if they have damaged their bin through neglect or misuse.

We’ll each household with a sticker once we receive payment for the annual subscription. From July 2026 onward, we will only collect bins that display a valid 2026 garden waste sticker. 

If you have paid for a sticker and have not received it, please contact us. You can find out contact details at the end of this page.

You must put your garden waste bin out before 6am on collection day. Collection times can vary from collection to collection. Please take your bin back in as soon as possible as possible. Do not obstruct pavements or roads. 

We will not empty excessively heavy garden waste bins, if there’s any risk of injury to staff or damage to the bin or collection vehicle. Householders are responsible for lightening the bin. 

If your wheeled garden waste bin is damaged or lost, we may charge for a replacement. 

7. Collections

We endeavour to collect garden waste every two weeks. We may need to suspend the service (for example, during severe weather) without notice or compensation. It may not be possible for us to carry out a catch-up collection. 

We reserve the right to vary these terms and conditions at any time, without notice. For the latest version, service guidance and updates, please visit our website.

8. Presenting garden waste bins 

You must take your bin to the agreed collection point, by 6am on day of collection. This is usually at the kerbside on the boundary of your property. 

We’ll return your bin to the boundary of your property once we have emptied it. It’s your responsibility to ensure your garden waste bin is brought back onto your property, on the same day. 

9. Assisted collections (to help you put your bin out) 

If your household is eligible, you can request an assisted collection. 

There’s no need to contact us if you’re eligible for the garden waste service and already receive an assisted collection. We’ll collect your garden waste bin from the same place as your general waste refuse bin. 

10. Appeals process

If your property has been excluded from the garden waste collection scheme, but you feel your property is eligible, you have the right to appeal to us. 

You can appeal by completing our online complaints form or contacting Customer Services. Your appeal must outline the reasons why your property meets the eligibility criteria for the service, along with any supporting information. 

You can find the eligibility criteria in Clause 2 of these terms and conditions. 

Once we receive your appeal, we’ll review all the relevant information you have submitted. If we do not to uphold your appeal, you cannot submit further appeals unless your circumstances change. 

11. Missed garden waste bins

You must leave (present) your garden waste bin at the agreed location, by 6am on the designated day of collection.

If you do not do so, you cannot report it as a missed and we will not consider it as a ‘missed’ collection. You will become responsible for disposing of the garden waste. 

If our bin crew arrives at your property and your garden waste bin is not presented, they will record this. If they record your bin as ‘not presented’, we will not return to the property, and you’ll be responsible for disposing of the waste. 

If you report a missed bin on the day of your collection, we’ll aim to return to collect the garden waste within the same collection week. We may suspend the service if there is sustained adverse weather, such as severe snow and ice. We will attempt to return and empty the bin where practicable, but we cannot guarantee a collection. We do not provide refunds in any circumstances where collections do not take place. 

If you do not present your garden waste for collection following our requirements, you have the following options: 

  • take the garden waste to one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres - you may need a permit for this
  • store the garden waste until your next garden waste collection day 

You must present your garden waste safely and suitably in the bin provided on the next collection day. 

12. Moving house

This scheme is for collection services to specific properties and households. The service is not transferable – the payment is for your property only. If you move house, please leave the garden waste bin at the property.

We will not give refunds or partial refunds if you cancel your service outside the cancellation period. The cancellation period is 14 days of payment being made and is explained in Clause 14 of these terms and conditions.

13. What you can put in your bin

Find what we can and cannot accept in our garden waste bins.

You should place all your garden waste in the bin loose, not wrapped or bagged.

We can only collect waste that has been placed in the bin – we do not accept ‘side waste’ such as piles or bags of waste left to the side of the bin. 

14. Your right to cancel the service

You have 14 days, from the date you paid, to cancel the service. You must cancel the service in writing, by email or letter. Our postal address and email address are at the end of this page.

You must include following information: 

  • your name 
  • your full address 
  • your unique garden waste property reference number, which is 12 digits long 
  • the reason for your cancellation

If you ‘opt out’ of the scheme, we’ll keep your details for marketing purposes for one year. This marketing is for our waste related services. 

Contact us

Customer services

Email: wastepermits@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk 
Address: South Lakeland House, Lowther Street, Kendal, LA9 4DQ
Telephone: 0300 373 3300