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There are several ways to recycle your garden waste:
Make your own free compost for the garden.
Some councils charge for this service, check your local council for further information.
Staffordshire’s recycling centres accept all types of garden waste (such as weeds, prunings and leaves) and including larger items such as tree branches, that cannot be placed in the kerbside collection.
Please note: turf edging can be disposed of free of charge, however, turf from clearing larger areas is considered to be garden landscaping and is chargeable.
To find out please check direct with your local council.
If leaves from a nearby tree fall into your garden it’s classed as a natural event and it’s down to you to dispose of them. Legally you can’t require the owner of the tree to dispose of them.
However, if you choose to cut off any tree branches or vegetation overhanging your property you should return what you remove to your neighbour or whoever owns the trees. That includes branches and fruit. You should not dispose of them yourself.
While there’s nothing stopping you, it is a waste of a useful resource.
In Staffordshire, most of the waste which can’t be re-used or recycled is sent to one of our two energy recovery plants where it gets burnt to generate electricity. While this is a much better option than landfill, it is more important to recycle as much material as possible to keep valuable resources in circulation for longer.
Also, garden waste contains a lot of moisture. When it’s burned it reduces the efficiency of energy generation from the plant and less electricity is produced.
No. More than half of all UK councils now charge for garden waste collections and there is no evidence that charging has resulted in increased fly-tipping.
No. In the past, some councils could afford to offer a garden waste service free of charge. However, every council has seen substantial cuts to their budgets. In some cases that extra money simply isn’t there anymore.
Councils now have to prioritise their funding so they can continue to deliver essential statutory services like social care. No council is required by law to offer a garden waste collection.
However, rather than simply cutting garden waste collections completely some councils have chosen to make a charge which will contribute towards running their service and keep it available for those who choose to use it.
There are still free alternatives to using a charged kerbside service including home composting and taking green waste direct to any of Staffordshire’s recycling centres.
The income from any charge helps towards meeting the cost of running their garden waste collection service, and other waste, recycling and environmental services.
Yes. Collection of garden waste is not a statutory service, councils are not obliged to offer it. The Controlled Waste Regulations 2012 allow councils to charge for its collection.
Every neighbourhood has an underlying rat population, even if you don’t realise they are there. Rats only become a problem when they breed in numbers and invade our living spaces. If this happens they can cause substantial health and nuisance problems and will need to be controlled. However, your compost heap is unlikely to attract them to any degree, and you should never add cooked food. Placing the compost bin on a hard surface or chicken wire can help to keep rats out of a compost bin.
One option might be to have a chat with a neighbour and see if they’d be willing to split the cost of a garden waste bin with you.
If someone you know is going to the recycling centre you could ask whether they’d mind taking some of your green waste too. Local recycling centres are free.
Or maybe you could share a compost bin if they have room for one.
Your local district council organise the collection of your bins, so best check with your local council direct.
Your local recycling centres will accept logs.
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