Garden waste

From 6 May 2024, we are introducing a charge for garden waste collections for street level properties with gardens. We will only collect your garden waste if you subscribe to the service.

 

Subscribe to our garden waste collection service

This service is for street level properties (houses or houses converted into flats – generally households with their own bin).

Subscribe to our garden waste collection service

The first subscription period is from 6 May 2024 to 31 March 2025.

The subscription fee starts at £78.

We will collect garden waste fortnightly from subscribers throughout the year. If you buy a subscription later in the year, you will pay the same price for the full term because the price and expiry date are fixed.

From April 2025 the subscription will be a yearly fee. We will remind residents when and how to renew the subscription for next year in February and March 2025.

We are currently reviewing the options for collecting garden waste from households in estates. If you live in a flat on an estate but have your own garden, email recycling.team@hackney.gov.uk.

If you have communal gardens contact your managing agent or housing association. They’re responsible for the removal of garden waste.

Request removal of unwanted garden waste bin

We will remove any unwanted bins from properties that do not wish to subscribe to our garden waste collection service in due course. If you would like your bin removed sooner complete our online form:

Request removal of unwanted garden waste bin

Check if you’re entitled to a collection and find out your collection day

Use our postcode look up tool to find out what waste and recycling services your address should receive and your collection days.

Find your waste and recycling services

New waste and recycling collection days from 6 May 2024

Collection days for waste and recycling will change for some street-level properties from 6 May 2024.

Check your new collection day

Report a missed collection

If your garden waste bin or bag was not collected, leave it out and wait until 6pm on your collection day. We might come back and collect your bin before 6pm. If we do not, report the missed collection. We will then collect your rubbish within 48 hours.

You must report a missed collection within 2 days of your collection day. If not, we will collect your waste on your next collection day.

You can only report a missed collection for your scheduled collection day.

Report a missed collection

Items you can and can’t recycle as garden waste

Christmas trees

We include Christmas tree collections as part of the garden waste collection subscription service.

Japanese knotweed

You must not put Japanese knotweed in with your garden waste or general rubbish.

The government has guidance on treating and disposing of invasive plants. If you have Japanese knotweed or other invasive plants on your land you should contact a specialist contractor to remove and dispose of it properly.

Compostable packaging

Compostable plastic is a material made from renewable materials such as vegetable starch and soy protein. You should not put compostable plastic in your general waste, food waste or garden waste. This is because in north London food waste is processed in anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities and mixed food and garden waste goes to in-vessel composting (IVC) facilities.

‘De-packaging’ machinery removes all packaging (compostable liners/Vegware/plastic bags) from food and garden waste and disposes of it. People often put non-compostable items into the food or garden waste when they shouldn’t, causing contamination, so this needs to be done. The de-packaging machinery we use is not currently able to distinguish between compostable and non-compostable packaging when removing contaminants.

What happens to your garden waste

We send garden waste from households in Hackney to an in-vessel composting plant in south east England to be turned into compost.

Other ways to recycle garden waste

The most environmentally-friendly alternative is to compost your green garden waste yourself. Composting is a natural process that transforms your waste into nutrient-rich soil. Garden waste can be home composted using a composter. See Reduce, reuse and repair – Composting and water butts.

You can also take garden waste to one of four reuse and recycling centres:

  • Islington, 40 Hornsey Street, N7 8HU
  • Walthamstow, South Access Road, E17 8AX
  • Leyton, Gateway Road, E10 5BY
  • Wood Green, Western Road, N22 6UG

For more information, see Reuse and Recycling Centres (tips or dumps).

Garden waste collection terms and conditions

See Garden waste collection terms and conditions (google doc).

Page updated on: 15 March 2024

Hackney Recycling

Address

Hackney Service Centre
1 Hillman Street
London
E8 1DY

Telephone

Opening times

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 9am to 5pm (telephone)
  • Wednesday – 9am to 4pm (telephone)