Green Waste Collection Service

Nearly all properties in Tonbridge & Malling borough are provided with a green-lidded bin for the collection of garden waste, cardboard and food waste . This bin is collected fortnightly with the green box while the black wheeled bin is collected on the alternate week. A collection calendar is provided showing which weeks your green-lidded bin and green box are collected.

The service has been running successfully in parts of the borough since July 2000 and was introduced, in partnership with Kent County Council, to provide an easy-to-use recycling scheme that significantly reduces the amount of waste going to landfill sites or to energy from waste plants.

A small number of households, for example those who do not have any gardens or no space for storing wheeled bins, are considered unsuitable for this service and only receive the black bin and green box services. However, we are more than happy to reassess hopuseholds that were originally considered exempt from the scheme.

The borough council has worked with independent consultants to ensure the green-lidded bin service works and that it was expanded across the borough in the best way. The consultants have produced a case study on the service.

The green-lidded bin can be used to collect and compost the following materials:-

Garden Waste: Grass cuttings, hedge clippings, flowers, pruning, thorny branches, weeds, pinecones and fruit.

Cardboard: Brown corrugated cardboard, often used for packaging around bulky items like televisions, flat grey cardboard, typically used in cereal and shoe boxes and toilet roll tubes and shiny cardboard used around ready meals.Some greeting cards can be composted through the green-lidded bin service but please do not add cards with metal or glitter or plastic into the green-lidded bin.

Food waste: All cooked and uncooked vegetables, cooked and uncooked meat and fish, bones, tea bags, coffee grounds and plate scrapings. This

information leaflet (PDF 794 KB) details the best ways of managing food waste.

Many of these materials can also be home composted which could provide you with your own soil improver and reduce the miles that the waste must travel before being composted.

When placing food waste in the green-lidded bin wrap it in newspapers, kitchen roll, paper bags or place it in cardboard boxes. Please note we cannot accept any type of plastic bag including biodegradable, compostable or degradable plastic bags. While these types of plastics can be home composted the process used to compost the material collected in the green-lidded bin takes a much quicker time, often as little as eight weeks. These types of plastic bags can also damage some of the equipment used at the composting facility.

During extended periods of hot weather some residents may experience difficulties with flies or maggots in their wheeled bins. If you do experience any problems please contact the waste services team who have been able to help many households. It is most important to note that food waste can also be collected in your black wheeled bin. During the hotter weather you may want to place food waste in whichever bin is next due for collection. This will ensure that food waste is collected weekly. If you have concerns about flies, odours and maggots then you may find these hints and tips useful.

If you have more garden waste than can fit into your green-lidded bin then you can place up to six additional sacks next to your green-lidded bin for collection. Please place additional garden waste in open sacks, not tied. These sacks will be returned to you but may not be in a re-usable condition. The council has a selection of re-usable garden waste bags provided through a separate funding scheme by the Kent Waste Partnership, and these are available to residents on request by calling the council's Waste Services on 01732 876147 or by e-mailing the waste team. In order to help maintain a clean bin you may find it useful to line the base of the green-lidded bin with cardboard to absorb any moisture and prevent garden waste becoming smelly.

Should you require further information we have provided answers to many frequently asked questions.

The council operates a number of collection services for refuse , recycling , green waste and bulky goods . We can also provide you with ideas to help you compost or reduce food waste or re-use other waste. We also provide street cleansing services. Please note that commercial refuse collections operate under a separate arrangement.

An online list is provided to help you recycle, compost or dispose of more than 150 different types of household waste.

Collection services may vary during Easter and Christmas Public Holidays.

Further Information

To contact the Waste Services Team, telephone 01732 876147, e-mail waste.services@tmbc.gov.uk or SMS text message to 07781 482959.

 

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Last updated: 01/02/10 at 15:11:54 Office use only: 1110/2010-10-30