Garden waste collections to restart across Havering.

Garden waste collections will restart across Havering from Monday the 27th of April.

The service was suspended as the Council and contractors SERCO had to take the difficult decision to prioritise the kerbside waste and recycling collections due to staff shortages around Covid19.

The garden waste service which residents subscribe to, will now resume for fortnightly collections once again, where staff resources allow us to do so.

The Council will refund those residents who had already renewed their subscription for 2020-21, for the two garden waste collections that were missed at the beginning of April.

Information on that and for those residents who need to renew, is available on our website LINK

Councillor Damian White, Leader of Havering Council, said:

“I am pleased to be able to bring the garden waste service back from Monday. We know that this service is important to our residents who have contacted us and I have been working with our officers and contractors to get it back up and running as soon as possible. 

“This is alongside the weekly waste collections which we have continued to sustain throughout the COVID-19 crisis – and I know that both are very important to our residents. 

“A huge thank you to all staff who have kept our waste and recycling service going during this time.

“I would like to encourage residents to continue or to think about composting as much as they can to limit the amount of garden waste that will need to be collected so that we can continue to offer the best possible service at this time.

When is the suspended garden waste service returning?

The Garden Waste collection service will resume from Monday 27 April.

It will be collected every fortnight from that date subject to resource availability.

Why was the service suspended?

The garden waste service was suspended because of the impact of Covid 19 on contractor staff numbers.

Any remaining resource was put into maintaining your weekly waste and recycling collections, considered a key priority.

I have already renewed my subscription for 2020-21. Will I get a refund?

We are looking into providing refunds for those residents who had already renewed their subscription.

During the suspension of the service, there were two missed garden waste collections and the amount payable to those who have renewed would therefore be £4.40.

We will be writing to all subscribers to explain the refund process.

Please bear with us during this busy time.

I was about to subscribe/renew when the service was suspended, can I still renew/subscribe?

If you are already a subscriber but have not yet renewed, we can still pick up your garden waste in your green bin displaying last year’s sticker.

Once the renewal system is back up and running, we will let you know when you can renew for this year.

The subscription rate for renewing and for new subscribers for 20/2021 will be £50.60.

Can I still join as a new customer?

We are currently updating the system to allow for new customers to join at a reduced rate.

Please bear with us whilst we finalise this, and keep checking the website for updates.

I’m having problems renewing, will my bin still be collected?

If you were a customer in 2019/20 then yes, your bin will still be collected until we are able to activate the renewals system again.

My bin wasn’t picked up on my collection day, when will it be collected?

Please check our website to see if collections are running behind at all, which continues to be a possibility whilst staff numbers fluctuate.  If your road is not listed, then please consider this a genuine missed collection, and report it to us online.

I have renewed but haven’t received my new subscription year sticker, will my bin still be emptied?

Yes, your bin will still be collected.

Due to the suspension of the garden waste service, can I put out extra garden waste in addition to my container?

As per usual practice, we will only be collecting garden waste from your container.

This will help to ensure that the crews can get round to all customers as scheduled.

Any surplus garden waste that you have generated while the service was suspended must be stored and then put back in your container for the next collection.

Alternatively, if you haven’t already given it a go, home composting is a great way to make use of your garden waste, turning it back into compost for the garden. 

I am struggling to store the garden waste, what can I do?

Perhaps consider a home compost bin.  Havering Council offer residents heavily subsidised compost bins with a free caddy for just £4.00 (the price doesn’t include delivery). 

For information go to www.getcomposting.com or call 0844 5714444.

If this is not an option, then perhaps pile it into a corner of the garden, making your own compost heap.

If I want to home compost, is there support?

Yes, there is lots of support on our composting page.

When our usual business practices resume, we will be able to offer free composting workshops too.

Are garden waste sacks being collected too?

Yes, the compostable garden waste sacks are being collected too so please leave them on the boundary of your property by 7am on your allocated collection day and week.  W/C 27th April is Week 1 customers, w/c 4th of May is Week 2 customers. 

Please refer to your calendar for clarification of your allocated week and day.

Are all customers on the service getting a collection next week?

No, the service will resume on the usual system of week 1 and week 2 customers. Monday 27th of April is Week 1, therefore, only customers who are allocated Week 1 collections will receive their collection next week.  Week 2 customers will receive their collection on the week commencing 4th of May.

Please refer to your calendar for information on your allocated collection week.

Does this mean that all waste services are back up and running as usual?

No, we are having to adapt and make decisions on services on a day to day basis and priority will always be given to the waste and recycling collections.

For now, we can offer garden waste collections as long as the resources are available.

This could mean that some collections may be slightly delayed if we face further resourcing issues.Bulky waste collections remain suspended at the current time