Garden waste subscription FAQs

The easiest way is by subscribing for garden waste collections online.

You'll need to pay for your subscription at the time you subscribe.

Your new brown bin will be delivered within 3 weeks of the date you subscribe.

Everyone who subscribes will have their garden waste collected fortnightly between April and November.

If you do not subscribe, we will not collect your garden waste and you'll be responsible for getting rid of it yourself.

Garden waste collections cost £40 per year for one bin.

If you have more than one brown bin, you'll pay an extra £20 per year for each bin. The maximum number of bins allowed per household is 5.

There are no discounts or concessions available.

Once you've subscribed, you'll automatically be added to the system our waste collection crews use.

We'll also provide you with a sticker which includes a permit reference. You must attach the sticker clearly to your brown bin.

If you've subscribed to get more than one bin emptied, you'll get a sticker for each bin.

We collected all old green bins in spring 2024.

If your bin was missed, please email bins@middlesbrough.gov.uk or call 01642 726001.

We're putting on two extra collections in March 2025 free of charge to reimburse residents who missed collections in 2024.

All residents who have subscribed in 2024 will get these additional collections.

While you're waiting for your brown bin to arrive, you can store your garden waste in a hessian bag or a bag for life. Unfortunately we cannot provide garden waste sacks while you're waiting for your brown bin.

You can also put your waste out for collection in a hessian bag or a bag for life, and we'll collect it on your normal collection day. We'll try to place the bag back on your property securely, but this may not always be possible.

Or you can store your garden waste in a hessian bag or bag for life and tip it into your brown bin when it arrives.

This is a temporary issue due to the bins being stacked before delivery. The problem will fix itself over the next few weeks.

If you're not subscribed to garden waste collections, you're responsible for legally getting rid of your garden waste.

You can either compost it yourself, or take it to the Household Waste Recycling Centre. Don't forget, you must book an appointment at the Household Waste Recycling Centre before you go.

Please do not put garden waste in your black refuse bin.

Yes, you can subscribe any time during the year, but the cost is the same no matter when you sign up.

If you subscribe part way through the year, you'll only get the amount of collections left in the year, but you'll pay the same amount.

No, all households pay the same amount, regardless of personal circumstances.

This includes people who subscribe part way through the year - you'll only get the amount of collections left in the year, but you'll still pay the same amount.

If you cancel your subscription after your bin has already been delivered, you cannot get a refund.

If you cancel your subscription within 14 days of signing up, and your bin has not been delivered yet, you may be entitled to a refund.

You can call 01642 726001 to cancel your subscription.

You do not need to do anything. This is an opt-in (subscription) service.

If you do not subscribe to the garden waste collection service, we will not collect your garden waste.

If you're not subscribed, you're responsible for legally getting rid of your garden waste.

You can either compost it yourself, or take it to the Household Waste Recycling Centre. Don't forget, you must book an appointment at the Household Waste Recycling Centre before you go.

Please do not put garden waste in your black refuse bin.

Once you're subscribed, we'll collect your garden waste every two weeks during the collection season (April to November).

You can see your collection day on your bin calendar. Find out how to check your bin dates.

If you are not subscribed, we will not collect your garden waste.

Once you've subscribed, you'll be able to see your collection day on your bin calendar. Find out how to check your bin dates.

Your collection day might be a different day to when your other bins are emptied.

You'll still need to put your bin out by 7am on your collection day.

Once you've subscribed, we'll also provide you with a sticker which includes a permit reference. You must attach the sticker clearly to your brown bin.

If your bin is broken or damaged by our waste collection crew, we'll repair or replace it for free. Please let us know as soon as possible by calling 01642 726001.

Yes, you can take your bin with you and transfer your subscription.

But you must let us know, so we can update our system and make sure your bin is collected from your new address. You can contact us on 01642 726001.

During the winter, there is less growth so less garden waste is produced.

The environmental benefit of collecting such small amounts of garden waste in the winter would be outweighed by the fuel used by our bin wagons.

If you do have garden waste during the winter, you can put it in your brown bin until collections start again in spring.

We're making changes to bin collections as part of the savings we need to make. Like many councils across the country, we've struggled to set a balanced budget for 2024-2025, which we're legally required to do.

Introducing a charge for garden waste collections will help us to keep providing the service. Many other councils already charge residents for their garden waste collection.

Not all properties in Middlesbrough need garden waste collected. We feel that introducing a charge is fair, because the service will only be used by households who want to subscribe.

The income we get will reduce the cost of running the service. In time the service may even pay for itself, which will help to protect essential services.

The green bins have to be emptied by a different kind of bin lorry than the black bins and blue-lid bins. So if our garden waste lorries break down, we cannot collect garden waste.

The new brown bins can be emptied by the same lorry as the other bins, so if there's a breakdown, we can send another lorry.

Once we've collected all the green bins, parts will be recycled.

Garden bonfires are not illegal, even in a smoke control area. But there are laws if the smoke from the bonfires causes a nuisance to neighbours.

Garden waste can be wet and damp, which will create a lot of smoke. This can be difficult to control when you have neighbours close by.

We're likely to receive complaints if you burn garden waste, so we recommend you do not do it.

We send garden waste to external garden waste composters. They turn the garden waste into compost using a process called 'open windrow composting'.

Open windrow composting is used for processing garden waste, like grass cuttings, pruning, and leaves, in either an open air environment or in large covered areas where the material can break down in the presence of oxygen.

Once composted, the material can then be sold. The compost can be used to improve soil via blending, and for land remediation, with uses in agriculture and landscaping.