You can now sign up to pay for garden waste collections from SHDC

South Hams garden waste service subscriptions are now live.

Residents of the South Hams can now sign up for the new chargeable fortnightly garden waste subscription service.

Anyone living in the district can sign up; subscriptions went live on 1 November. An annual £49 subscription covers collections for one brown wheelie bin, with a maximum of two subscriptions for two bins per household.

Collections will begin in March 2023. Residents wanting to get their first collection in March will need to have signed up to the service by 22 January 2023. This is so council staff have enough time to create the collection rounds and get everything ready ahead of launch.

If you don’t sign up by 22 January, you’ll still be able to sign up, but your first collection will happen at a later date.

Cllr Keith Baldry, South Hams Executive Member for Environment, said: “Our staff are working really hard to make sure that we are ready to launch a new and improved garden waste collection service in the spring.

“We’re committed to providing quality services for our residents and the garden waste collections are no different. The annual subscription fee will purely cover the cost of the service, with no profit being made. Compared to what private companies charge for collections, the annual fee represents good value for money.”

Residents can sign up to the service in two ways:

The quickest and easiest way to sign up is on the SHDC website: www.southhams.gov.uk/gardenwaste - the website is also full of information and useful FAQs on the service.

Alternatively, call the district council on: 01803 861234. We expect phone lines to be very busy, so there may be a wait.

Residents can keep their garden waste wheelie bin even if they choose not to subscribe to this service. Old garden waste bins can be recycled into a composter, water butt or used for garden storage.

Anyone who decides not to sign up to the service and would like to have their brown bin removed can fill out our online contact form at: www.southhams.gov.uk/gardenwaste

Those who decide not to sign up for the service can still take their garden waste to all three recycling centres in the South Hams. Full details, including opening hours, are available online here: www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/centre/

Alternatively, people can find out more on home composting possibilities here: www.recycledevon.org/in-the-garden/how-to-compost