From Monday 7 July, our garden waste collection service will change to an opt-in subscription service, whereby residents wishing to have their garden waste collected must sign up.
The new subscription service will be open to all Hillingdon households with a garden - this includes maisonettes and flats.
Why is this change happening?
Due to ongoing government funding shortfalls - including a £500,000 rise from National Insurance changes, and projected waste disposal cost increases of £1.6 million in 2025/26 and £2.6 million per year to 2029/30 - the council will introduce a charge for household garden waste collections to ensure our service remains sustainable.
The new service will ensure residents receive better value for money than neighbouring boroughs, with the continuation of weekly household collections in spring, summer and autumn (fortnightly in winter when collection volumes halve), with a greater capacity per collection and a cheaper rate per collection.
How will the new service work?
Residents who sign up for the garden waste collection service will receive garden tags to attach to their existing garden waste sacks.
Collections will continue to be made Mondays to Fridays:
weekly between March and November
fortnightly during the winter months (December to February)
If you're looking for information on accepted garden waste, instructions for collection or how to report a missed collection, see our general garden waste information.
How much does the subscription service cost?
The service costs £70 and runs until Tuesday 31 March 2026.
Please note:
There are no set-up fees.
Residents who do not subscribe to the service will not have their garden waste collected after Friday 4 July.
Subscribe to our new garden waste collection service
You can sign up for our new collection service any time from now until Wednesday 31 December.
In order to avoid any disruption to your collections, we recommend signing up as soon as possible.
You will receive a confirmation email of your subscription once you have signed up. If you do not receive an email, please check your spam/junk folders.
If you receive an error message during the payment stage of subscribing, please do not resubmit the form. Instead, email customeraccess@hillingdon.gov.uk to check the status of your subscription.
If your payment has gone through twice in error, please email customeraccess@hillingdon.gov.uk with a copy of the second email receipt (issued from Capita) to request a refund.
Garden waste sacks and tags
Our new garden waste collection service includes 3 sacks and tags as standard. Households can request up to 3 additional sacks and tags, if needed.
If this is your first time having garden waste collected in Hillingdon, you will be provided with both garden waste sacks and tags.
If you already have your garden waste collected in Hillingdon, you will be provided with garden waste tags to use on your existing garden waste sacks.
If you have subscribed to our garden waste service and need additional sacks or tags (up to 3) or replacement garden waste sacks, you can request these using our online form.
If your current garden waste sacks are old, but still fit for use, please continue to use these for as long as possible to avoid unnecessary waste.
On the form, please provide the email address you used to subscribe. Failure to do this may delay your request being processed and met.
We aim to deliver garden waste sacks and garden waste tags within 10 working days.
We are currently experiencing tag manufacturer delays, so delivery may be longer. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
If your garden waste tags haven't arrived by your first collection day, you can still use the service if you have subscribed; just make sure your door number is written on your garden waste sack.
What happens once I've subscribed?
Once you've subscribed to the service, tags will be posted through your door.
If this is your first time of having garden waste collected in Hillingdon, once you've signed up, garden waste sacks and garden tags will be delivered to you (tags and sacks may arrive separately).
What to do once your tags have been delivered
Write your address on the back of the tags using a permanent marker.
Place 1 tag on the handle of each of your garden waste sacks. Make sure the tag is pulled tight, and cut any excess cable with scissors to prevent it getting caught during collections. Please note: The garden waste tags are single-use; once fastened, tags cannot be undone and reused.
Fill your bag with accepted garden waste (grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, twigs, small branches, flowers and weeds). Be sure not to overload them (maximum weight is 25kg per bag).
On your collection day, put your bag out at the edge of your property before 6am.
Assisted collections
Residents who are not physically able to present their waste at their property boundary and have no support from a family member, carer or neighbour to help dispose of their garden waste can request assisted garden waste collections from the front of their property.
From Monday 7 July, garden waste will only be collected from properties subscribed to the service.
General household waste bags will not be collected if they have garden waste in them.
If you are unable to sign up now, but want to sign up at a later date, you can subscribe to the new collection service any time until Wednesday 31 December.
What happens from now until the new subscription service begins?
Nothing changes to the current garden waste service until Monday 7 July. Collections will continue as usual, up to and including Friday 4 July.
I pay council tax; why do I need to pay for garden waste collections?
The council tax residents pay helps to provide mandatory services, which have to be prioritised. Garden waste is a discretionary service (not a mandatory one), meaning it's a service we are not legally required to provide.
Having a self-funded, optional service for garden waste helps us to protect our other essential public services.
