What can I put in my garden waste bin?
If you subscribe to the service you can put the following in the garden waste bin:
Yes please
√ Weeds
√ Hedge trimmings
√ Small twigs and branches (less than 2.5cm (1") in diameter)
√ Grass cuttings
√ Flowers, plants, and windfall fruit
√ Leaves
√ Shredded paper
√ Small animal bedding (vegetarian only, for example rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and rats
No thank you
X Food waste, including potato peelings
X Plastic bags or bin bags
X Flowerpots and trays
X Soil
X Stones or rubble
X Branches or logs (larger than 2.5cm (1") in diameter)
X Any other household rubbish
X Textiles
X Animal waste
X Compost and turf
How do I dispose of my food waste now that it is no longer accepted with garden waste?
By law, we cannot charge for the collection of food waste. As there is a charge for the new garden waste service, this means we cannot accept food waste as part of these collections.
If the waste is from a vegetable patch or windfall fruit, it is classed as garden waste and you can put it in your garden bin. If the waste comes from your kitchen, it is classed as food waste and you cannot put it in your garden bin.
We are fully committed to continuing to providing residents with advice to help them minimise the amount of food waste they generate.
To learn more visit Pledge to Fight Food Waste on the Recap website
Approximately 70% of the food waste from UK households that is thrown away is edible. By cutting food waste the average UK household can save £500 each year.
We want to encourage residents to reduce the amount of food waste that they are generating which not only helps the environment but saves you money too.
Love food Hate Waste provides tips to assist householders to reduce their food waste, from how to store your food to make it last longer, portion planning to some great recipes to use up your leftovers.
There will always be some food waste and if you have or are thinking about home composting or a wormery, these are an ideal way to create soil conditioner for your garden.
You can also put food waste in your grey refuse bin. The contents of these bins are treated via a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant (MBT).
Currently 37% of grey bin waste is food waste. We do not expect a significant increase in this percentage based on the analysis of other councils that charge for garden waste collections.
I currently have communal garden waste collections with properties sharing a number of bins. How will the garden waste subscription work for these instances?
Individual properties will need to sign up to the subscription service. You are more than welcome to share the bin(s) with your neighbour(s), but the bin will be the responsibility of the subscriber.
If you have communal waste collections, please contact the Waste Minimisation Team at CRM_Ops@huntingdonshire.gov.uk for further information and to request this service.
How often will my garden bin be emptied?
Your garden waste will be collected once every two weeks throughout the year. Please make sure your bin is out before 6.30am on the day of collection.