From 1 December, new subscribers to the service can sign up online or over the phone. Those wishing to renew their service to continue past 4 March will also be able to do so from 4 November.

There is no sign-up deadline, but if you don’t renew an existing contract before 4 March 2025 then your service will pause until you renew.

You can expect your new brown bin to arrive within two to four weeks of signing up for the service.

If you are renewing your service, you will be able to continue using your current bin.

You can start using your new bin straight away. Garden waste will only be collected if it’s in the brown bin.

The annual fee is:

• £70 for a standard-sized bin
• £46 for a smaller bin  

If you receive Council Tax Reduction (CTR), you may be entitled to a discount. If this is the case, the annual fee will be:

• £56 for a standard-sized bin
• £31 for a smaller bin

You won’t need to pay any separate costs for the bin.

When you sign up online, you’ll be prompted to pay the full amount for one year.

You can also choose to set up an annual direct debit payment  - we will give you 10 working days’ notice before taking future payments. This year's payment will be taken on 1 March 2025. 

Detailed terms and conditions will be available to view when you sign up.

We currently aren’t able to accept payment via a monthly direct debit.

If you receive Council Tax Reduction (CTR), there is a discount on the cost of garden waste service. This discount does not apply to those receiving a Single Person Discount (or any other council tax discounts or exemptions) unless they also receive CTR.

Please see 'What is the cost for the new service?' above and call our customer service centre, who will take your details and confirm if a discount applies.

The standard sized bin (240l) is 1m high, 70cm deep and 60cm wide

(Equivalent to around 2.7 garden waste bags)

The smaller bin(140l) is 1m high, 55cm deep and 50cm wide. 

(Equivalent to around 1.6 garden waste bags)

No - however, if you have a council-approved bag system due to accessibility reasons or the type of house frontage that you have, you will be able to continue with a bag system.

In this case will still need to pay for the scheme - £46 for up to two bags and £70 for up to three bags (equivalent to standard bin).

There are some additional council-approved locations where, for operational reasons, there’s no room for an additional bin – these locations will continue to operate with a bag collection on the same charged-for basis described as above.

You are able to take your garden waste free of charge to the Household Waste Recycling Centres, or you can compost it at home. Find out more here: www.getcomposting.com

Note: If garden waste is added to your residual (general) waste bin, it will not be collected.

The service runs from 4 March 2025 to 1 March 2026. You can sign up at any time and will need to renew your subscription each year, either by a one-off payment or by Direct Debit.

Sharing your garden waste bin with a neighbour is a good way to reduce costs. If you choose to do so, you and your neighbour will share responsible for any management of bin space and payment.

We will also only be able to deal with a single point of contact from whoever is the lead neighbour.

Christmas trees will continue to be collected from all properties in the weeks after Christmas.

If you currently receive an assisted collection and sign up to the new service, you will continue to receive an assisted collection.

Yes - call our Customer Service team on 0300 300 0013 to request to downsize your other bins.

Many residents in Winchester district don’t have gardens, or prefer to dispose of the waste themselves. For this reason, it is a service that is optional for those who would like the service and not paid for via council tax. (For information about your council tax bill you can find it here Council Tax Charges 2024-25 - Winchester City Council)

Most councils in Hampshire have now moved to an optional charged-for scheme. The scheme is not run at profit and covers the cost of the service. We ensure that the cost is benchmarked against other councils and the cost of our scheme is one of the lowest in Hampshire.

We're not going to be issuing garden waste stickers this year. We'll instead be using the in-cab technology to check if residents have an active garden waste bin licence. This change means we'll be able to check more efficiently and there'll be no delay for residents waiting for bin stickers to be delivered.