Garden waste collection pauses during winter and springs back into action in March

After over four million brown bins were emptied in 2019, Leeds’ garden waste collections are going into hibernation for winter. Leeds City Council is reminding gardeners that their brown bin garden waste will be collected shortly for the last time this year.

Brown bin collections pause in November, returning in March. Just under two thirds of the city’s households use a brown bin, which is collected on a fortnightly rota.

To find out when to finish the final garden touches before winter and put out the brown bin ready to be collected, check the dates at www.leeds.gov.uk/mybinday. Residents can also download the Leeds Bins app from Google Store or Apple Store to get bin reminders straight to their phones https://imactivate.com/leedsbins.

Garden work need not stop here, as residents still have the option to deposit garden waste at their local household waste recycling centres for free. Leeds recycling centres are open daily from 8am-4pm, except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. Check www.leeds.gov.uk/recycling to find the closest one to the home. There is also the option to compost the garden waste.

Some of the resulting product is sold as compost for agriculture whilst the rest is used to help restore former landfill sites back to a natural state.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council's executive member for environment and active lifestyles, said:

“We encourage everyone to make a note of their last collection dates and have their brown bins ready before the final collection of this year.

“My thanks to our environmental services team, who do a great job collecting and delivering the garden waste from brown bins for composting.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Composting garden waste from brown bins

Plastic products labelled as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ cannot currently be recycled, either via the green recycling or brown garden waste bin. This type of plastic should only be disposed in the black general household waste bin.

For tips and guide on where to site your composter, how to feed it to get good material, and where to use it, visit www.leeds.gov.uk/composting.

To find the best offer in your local area for composting bins, check www.getcomposting.com and enter your postcode to get the LCC discount.

To find out more about what must go in the brown bin and what happens with the garden waste we collect, visit www.leeds.gov.uk/brownbin.