Recycling in Hillingdon
We are committed to recycling as much of our residents' waste as possible by providing free and easy-to-use weekly collections.
Garden waste recycling
Our garden waste service is available for houses and maisonettes with private gardens. Currently, blocks of flats are unable to use this service.
Please note: Food waste in Hillingdon is now being collected separately from garden waste, as part of our drive to help improve our borough's recycling rates. Residents' collection days remain the same.
If you haven't already, sign up for our free food waste service and you'll receive everything you need to get started.
Items accepted through our garden waste service
- Grass cuttings and hedge clippings
- Leaves, twigs and branches
- Dead flowers and weeds
Garden waste sacks
If you live in a property that qualifies for this service, you will be provided with 3 free heavy-duty canvas bags. If you have a large garden, you can request up to 3 additional sacks. A maximum of 6 bags will be taken per weekly collection.
We recommend that you write your door number and postcode on your bags for easy identification.
Worn or damaged bags will be replaced free of charge and can be disposed of with your weekly rubbish collection.
Please note: If you ordered garden waste sacks more than 10 days ago and you have not received them yet, please let us know.
Instructions for collection
- Carefully cut large twigs and branches so they measure no more than 2 inches in diameter and 2 feet long and fit in the garden waste sack.
- Make sure the sacks are able to be lifted by our collection team.
- Keep all of your garden sacks within your property boundary until collection day.
- On your collection day, leave your garden waste bags near the end of your property boundary before 6am.
- If you do not have a front garden, leave your garden sack on the pavement the night before collection (no earlier than 5.30pm).
- A maximum of 6 bags will be taken per weekly collection.
Missed collection
If your garden waste hasn't been collected on your collection day and you have followed instructions for collection, please let us know.
We will make another collection within 2 working days.
Report a missed garden waste collection
Free compost bin
Home composting is an environmentally-friendly way to deal with some of your food and garden waste. It's easy to do and produces nutrient-rich compost for your flower beds and window boxes.
You can put a whole range of organic materials into a compost bin, including:
- egg shells and boxes
- raw fruit and vegetable scraps
- tea bags, coffee grounds and coffee filters
- small amounts of garden waste, eg prunings, old flowers and plants
- grass cuttings
Every household in Hillingdon can request a free compost bin for their garden by calling our Contact Centre on 01895 556000.
Our compost bins are 330 litres, 100cm tall with a 80cm base diameter.