Green-lidded bin

A green wheeled bin showing the Dacorum Borough Council logo

Changes to your garden waste service

In February 2023, our garden waste service is changing to a paid subscription service.

Registration for the new service will open in January 2023. For more information, visit our Garden Waste Subscription Service page.

When are green-lidded bins collected?

Green-lidded bins are collected fortnightly between March and November and should be left at the boundary of your property by 6.45am on the day of collection.

What you can put in

Your green-lidded bin is for garden waste only including:

  • grass/hedge cuttings
  • leaves
  • twigs/small branches
  • flowers (including cut flowers that are kept inside the house)
  • prunings
  • weeds
  • small animal bedding made from straw, hay or woodchips (but not shredded paper)

Please see our  Dacorum Recycles leaflet (PDF 11MB), which contains information on what can and cannot be recycled in the bins. You may wish to print this off as a reminder to ensure your household is recycling all that they can.

If the leaflet or the information provided on this page does not answer your recycling query, you can email us at recycle@dacorum.gov.uk.

What you can't put in

If the wrong items are found in your green-lidded bin we will not be able to empty it. Our crews will record the problem and leave an advisory note on your bin. It will be your responsibility to remove the items of contamination for the next scheduled green-lidded bin collection.

Expand all

Green-lidded bin contamination - frequently asked questions

  • Why is contamination in the green-lidded bin a problem?

    The contents of the green-lidded bin are taken to a facility where it is turned into compost. This compost is spread on farmland to enrich the soil.

    Because this process only composts garden waste, the facility will not accept material that is contaminated with other materials as it will affect the quality of the end product - compost. Compost which contains flakes of plastic or bits of metal cannot be spread on the land. This is why it is important that other materials, such as plastics, juice cartons and textiles, are not placed in the green-lidded wheeled bin. Due to the nature of the composting process the facility is also unable to accept food waste of any kind.

    If the facility rejects contaminated loads of green waste these will have to be put into landfill. We will be charged for this, and ultimately the cost of this will be passed on to residents.

  • Prohibited items

    Do not put any of the following items into your green-lidded bin:

    • Cardboard
    • Food waste
    • All types of plastic - this includes plastic bags, black plastic refuse sacks, plastic films, plastic flower pots, polystyrene seedling trays and any ridged plastic (such as plastic buckets, toys)
    • Cartons - this includes laminated, waxed and foil-lined cardboard packaging (such as milk and juice cartons or washing powder boxes)
    • Textiles (such as clothes and shoes)
    • Duvets and pillows
    • Treated wood (such as fence panels, painted doors, wicker baskets)
    • Glossy paper and magazines
    • Glass
    • Metal
    • Ceramics and hardcore
    • Soil
    • Turf
    • Carpets
    • Furniture
    • Nappies
    • Fire ash
    • Dead animals
    • Pet faeces - this material is not accepted under the PAS100 standard and the composting facility is not licensed to accept it.
    • Hazardous wastes (such as garden chemicals and asbestos)
    • Pet bedding that is made from paper
  • Why is it important to get the contents of your green-lidded bin correct?
    The law has changed regarding the standards for the contents of the green-lidded bin. The PAS 100:2011 standard is now tightening up on materials acceptable for composting and has reduced the level of contamination in the end product - compost.
  • What bags can I use in my green-lidded bin and where can I get them?
    Compostable logo - a strip of paper with leaves on the top in the shape of the letter b

    You can only use compostable corn starch bags in the green-lidded bin. You cannot place any bags of excess garden waste beside the green-lidded bin. You can buy these bags from our offices at a cost of £6 for a roll of 25 (reduced price for Dacorum Card holders).As bags are surplus stock from our old collection service, it states that they can contain both garden and food waste. However, please ignore what is written on the bag and only put garden waste in them. 

    Suitable compostable bags will bear the seedling symbol and display the code EN13432:

    We can only accept this type of bag, as this is the only one that is compatible with the composting processes used by our reprocessor.

  • Why can't I put any plastic bags in my green-lidded bin?

    Plastic bags or biodegradable plastic bags will not be accepted in the green-lidded bin. This is because they will only break down into smaller pieces over time but will never fully biodegrade or compost. The only bags that will be accepted in the green-lidded bin are compostable corn starch bags, as detailed above.

    Please do not use any other branded biodegradable or compostable bags in the green-lidded bin as they may not be suitable for the composting process.

  • My green-lidded bin only had a few wrong items in it, why can't it be collected anyway?
    Contamination of any amount or kind will not be collected. The problem with even small amounts of contamination is that when this is multiplied by the number of households on the collection round, which can be up to 1,500, this will result in significant levels of contamination in one load.

Excess garden waste

If you regularly have excess garden waste you may want to purchase an additional green-lidded bin for £25. You will also need to purchase an annual garden waste subscription, costing £45 per year for each additional bin you purchase. For more information, please visit our Garden Waste Subscription Service page.

Alternatively, you can take your additional garden waste to your nearest Recycling Centre or compost at home.

What we do with your garden waste

Your garden waste is initially stored at Cupid Green Depot. Once there is a large enough volume of garden waste, it is transported to a facility in Suffolk where it is turned into compost.

All of our Recycling Centres sell 50-litre bags of this 100 per cent recycled and peat-free soil improver for £5 per bag. 

Missed collections

If you put your green-lidded bin out for collection on the correct day and we missed it, you can report it online. Please ensure you report your missed bin within 48 hours of your scheduled collection day.

Report a missed bin collection

Bin sizes

All residents who opt in to our Garden Waste Subscription Service are offered a 240-litre green-lidded bin.

From February 2023, green-lidded bins will only be collected if you have purchased a subscription and have received a subscription sticker. Registrations for the 2023 garden waste season will open in January 2023. 

We are unable to provide a larger green-lidded bin. Excess garden waste can be taken to a Recycling Centre or you can purchase an additional bin through the subscription service.