Your brown garden waste bin
Brown garden waste bin collections
- Your brown garden waste bin is emptied once a fortnight. You can put your brown bin or bins out for collection along with your blue recycling bin and outdoor silver food waste caddy.
- This bin is the property of Cherwell District Council and should only be used for domestic garden waste. Please do not use this bin to store items of value or any items which you do not want to dispose of. In the event that a bin containing personal or valuable items is emptied, Cherwell District Council cannot be held responsible for the loss of these.
- We will only empty brown bins that display a subscription label and no side waste will be taken. For safety reasons please ensure that the lid of your garden bin is closed.
- Please ensure your brown bin or bins are placed outside for collection by 7am on your collection day.
- The lifting arms on our vehicles have a weight limit so if your bin is too heavy we can’t empty it. To avoid this, don’t squash too much waste into your bin and never put any soil or stones in with your garden waste.
Brown bin subscriptions
To subscribe to the garden waste collection service and for more information, please visit: Garden waste service page.
Can you have more than one subscription?
There are no limits on number of subscriptions.
Each additional bin subscription will cost £49 per fixed year - please call our Customer Services team on 01295 227003 to order.
What happens if you decide not to subscribe?
If you do not subscribe, your brown bin will not be emptied and there will be no charge to you. If you do not have a garden or do not want to pay for the collections, you do not need to do anything.
If you don’t want to sign up for the garden waste subscription service, you can home compost or dispose of your garden waste at the household waste recycling centres at Alkerton or Ardley.
Home composting
Many of us also have gardens, creating grass cuttings, sticks, leaves, etc throughout the year. If you have a home compost bin, it’s good way to recycle certain garden waste to generate free, high-quality compost for your garden.
Your brown bin collection day
Collections are made by our in-house collection team Tuesday to Friday, any time between 7:00am and 5:00pm. When presenting bins for collection please be mindful not to cause an obstruction to others, particularly for wheelchair users or buggies.
Please make sure your bin is at the right place by 7:00am and remember to bring your bin back to your own property as soon as you can after collection. Take care not to leave bags or open receptacles out days before a waste collection as this is likely to attract vermin like foxes and rats. Any complaints received of bins permanently left out in a public area will be investigated and may be removed.
We operate an alternate week collection system, where the rubbish bins are collected one week and the recycling and garden waste bins collected the following week. Food waste caddies are collected every week.
View bin collection day and calendar
If the collection is missed, we will return to empty the bin in line with our current arrangements. In exceptionally inclement weather, the contents of the bin may freeze and it may not be possible to empty the bin. In these cases, we will not return until the next scheduled collection day.
There may be occasions due to exceptionally inclement weather, bank holidays etc. when the collections will be suspended. Full details will be provided on our website if there are any interruptions to the service. No refunds will be given for unexpected disruptions to the service.
Help putting out your bin
Contact us if you are unable to put your bins out due to infirmity or disability and we can help with your collection.
Contamination of brown bin
If your garden waste bin is contaminated, then we won't be able to empty your bin. You will be asked to remove the contamination (e.g. food, plastic bags) so it can be emptied on the next collection date.
Report a damaged or missing brown bin
Contact us if your brown bin has been damaged or is missing.
What to put in your brown garden waste bin
- Grass cuttings
- Pet straw (non meat eating domestic animals)
- Untreated sawdust
- Cut flowers
- Branches
- Leaves
- Hedge trimmings
- Weeds
What not to put in your brown garden and food waste bin
- Soil
- Stones
- Bricks
- Cardboard
- Paper
- Textiles
- Flower pots
- Plastic bags
- Cat or dog waste
- Fats and oils
- Wood
Residents living in flats
Please discuss this with your managing agent or landlord and ask them to contact us to make the arrangements.
What happens to your waste?
The contents of your brown bin are taken to a composting site in Oxfordshire, where it is treated and composted, in just a few months. The compost is then used on local farmers’ fields. The process is called In–Vessel Composting. The garden waste must be composted at very high temperatures. This process allows the garden waste to be broken down, killing potentially harmful weeds or pathogens.